# A Hat in Time
**A Hat in Time** is a 3D platformer developed and published by Gears for Breakfast, first released on October 5, 2017, in which a space-traveling girl called Hat Kid recovers scattered Time Pieces, the fuel for her spaceship, across five large worlds.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/) The game was crowdfunded on [Kickstarter](https://www.edgepedia.org/kickstarter), reaching nearly ten times its funding goal, and was built by a team that began the project as students in 2012 with no prior game-development experience.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/) • [2](https://nintendoeverything.com/interview-a-hat-in-time-dev-talks-five-year-development-switch-port-and-whats-next/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Genre and premise | 3D collectathon platformer; Hat Kid jumps, fights with an umbrella, and stitches hats that grant abilities to recover Time Pieces[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/) |
| Release | October 5, 2017; PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and macOS[3](https://www.gamespot.com/games/a-hat-in-time/reviews/) • [1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/) |
| Developer | Gears for Breakfast; development ran from 2012 to 2017[2](https://nintendoeverything.com/interview-a-hat-in-time-dev-talks-five-year-development-switch-port-and-whats-next/) |
| Funding | Successfully funded on Kickstarter, reaching nearly 10 times its goal[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/) |
| Sales | Over 500,000 units sold as of July 2018, against a Kickstarter budget the team estimated at 9,000 sales[2](https://nintendoeverything.com/interview-a-hat-in-time-dev-talks-five-year-development-switch-port-and-whats-next/) |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 3, upgraded to run on the Nintendo Switch with help from external developers arranged by publisher Humble[2](https://nintendoeverything.com/interview-a-hat-in-time-dev-talks-five-year-development-switch-port-and-whats-next/) |
| Reception | Metacritic score of 79; Steam English reviews Overwhelmingly Positive, 98% of 29,364 user reviews[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/) |
| Length | About 10 hours minimum to complete, with the DLC adding substantially more[2](https://nintendoeverything.com/interview-a-hat-in-time-dev-talks-five-year-development-switch-port-and-whats-next/) |
## Gameplay
The player controls Hat Kid, a small girl whose spaceship is attacked by the Mafia of Cooks while she passes a nearby planet, scattering her Time Pieces across it. Recovering them is the goal of every act in the game.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/) Movement uses a standard 3D platforming set of double jumps, wall jumps, climbing, and swinging over gaps, and the main method of attack is striking enemies with an umbrella.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/) • [4](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/a_hat_in_time)
**Hats and badges.** By collecting rare magical yarn, Hat Kid stitches new hats with distinct abilities, such as a witch hat for cooking explosive concoctions and a wooden ghost mask for peeking into other dimensions. Badges found, sold, and traded by locals attach to hats to modify them further, and hats can be switched with a shoulder button during play.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/) • [4](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/a_hat_in_time)
**Structure.** The game follows the hub-and-chapters template of [Super Mario 64](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-mario-64) and Banjo-Kazooie: a central spaceship with doors that unlock into Chapters, each divided into individual missions called Acts. Completing an Act grants a Time Piece, and new worlds unlock by reaching Time Piece totals rather than by finishing every act in order, so players can skip a chapter that frustrates them and return later, though the required totals rise as the game goes on.[4](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/a_hat_in_time)
## Worlds and tone
The five worlds vary sharply in setting and tone. Mafia Town is a seaside settlement run by the Mafia of Cooks, Dead Bird Studio is a bird-run movie studio whose acts shift from a modern film set to a 1930s whodunit parodying [Agatha Christie](https://www.edgepedia.org/agatha-christie)'s *Murder on the Orient Express*, and Subcon Forest is a Halloween-inspired spooky forest whose tone turns to survival-horror hide-and-seek within its own acts.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/) • [4](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/a_hat_in_time) Reviewers highlighted this variety as a core strength: [PC Gamer](https://www.edgepedia.org/pc-gamer)'s roundup of the best PC platformers describes the game as a stream of new scenarios, one level plunging the player into the rhythm of a horror game and another into an extended *Murder on the Orient Express* parody, with time rift levels that strip away set dressing for pure platforming tests.[5](https://www.pcgamer.com/best-platformers/)
## Development
Development began in 2012, and studio head Jonas Kaerlev described the team as students who did not really know how to make games and learned along the way; he compared the early Kickstarter video with the final build to show how much the game changed in form and quality over the five years.[2](https://nintendoeverything.com/interview-a-hat-in-time-dev-talks-five-year-development-switch-port-and-whats-next/) The stated inspirations were [Super Mario Sunshine](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-mario-sunshine), The Wind Waker, Banjo-Kazooie, and [Psychonauts](https://www.edgepedia.org/psychonauts); Kaerlev said he loved Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine and felt the Mario franchise was heading in a different direction, so he set out to make that kind of game himself.[2](https://nintendoeverything.com/interview-a-hat-in-time-dev-talks-five-year-development-switch-port-and-whats-next/)
The Kickstarter campaign funded at nearly ten times its goal.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/) Kaerlev said the team's own benchmark for success was 9,000 sales to match the Kickstarter budget, and reaching half a million sales by July 2018 exceeded their expectations.[2](https://nintendoeverything.com/interview-a-hat-in-time-dev-talks-five-year-development-switch-port-and-whats-next/)
**Switch port.** The Switch appeared mid-development, too late to design the game around it, and the [Unreal Engine 3](https://www.edgepedia.org/unreal-engine-3) codebase did not support the hardware at all. After concluding the port was beyond their expertise, Gears for Breakfast was approached by Humble, which had published the [Xbox One](https://www.edgepedia.org/xbox-one) and [PlayStation 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-4) versions, and external developers assisted in bringing the game to Switch.[2](https://nintendoeverything.com/interview-a-hat-in-time-dev-talks-five-year-development-switch-port-and-whats-next/)
## Downloadable content
Two major DLC packs were released. **Nyakuza Metro**, the second major DLC pack, released on Switch on November 21 and puts a greater focus on the new chapter itself rather than splitting attention between a chapter and a new mode.[6](https://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/52289/a-hat-in-time-nyakuza-metro-switch-review) It adds 10 Time Pieces, a new set of metro levels, a graffiti-like sticker system, more outfits, two retro filter badges, and a 50-player online party mode.[7](https://www.destructoid.com/review-a-hat-in-time-nyakuza-metro/) In-game, Nyakuza Metro requires 20 Time Pieces to access and is entered by using the Ice Hat on a manhole in the Science Lab.[8](https://support.hatintime.com/hc/en-us/articles/360012080619-How-do-I-access-the-Nyakuza-Metro-DLC) A third, smaller DLC, Vanessa's Curse, is also sold on Steam.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/)
Reviewers drew a consistent contrast between the two packs: Seal the Deal emphasizes high-pressure tasks and its challenge mode, while Nyakuza Metro focuses on platforming in a free-roam map.[9](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps4/316259-a-hat-in-time-seal-the-deal/reviews/175052) • [6](https://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/52289/a-hat-in-time-nyakuza-metro-switch-review)
## Reception
The game received generally favorable reviews from critics, with a Metacritic score of 79 shown on its Steam page.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/) GameSpot's review scored it 7 (Good), calling it slow to start but brimming with the charm and collectible-finding joy of classic 3D platformers, with smooth movement and satisfying just-barely-made-it platforming moments.[10](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/a-hat-in-time-review/1900-6416786/) Nintendo Life's Switch review scored it 7.5 and praised the world variety and hat system while identifying the camera, a problem it noted has plagued most 3D platformers since their inception, as unresolved.[4](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/a_hat_in_time) PC Gamer praised the smooth, responsive platforming controls and the game's refusal to dilute its core mechanics with minigames.[11](https://www.pcgamer.com/a-hat-in-time-review/) On Steam the game holds an Overwhelmingly Positive rating, with 98% of 29,364 English user reviews positive.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/)
## References
1. [A Hat in Time on Steam, Valve](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/Gone_home/)
2. [Interview: A Hat in Time dev talks five-year development, Switch port, and what's next, Nintendo Everything (September 23, 2018)](https://nintendoeverything.com/interview-a-hat-in-time-dev-talks-five-year-development-switch-port-and-whats-next/)
3. [A Hat in Time Reviews, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/games/a-hat-in-time/reviews/)
4. [A Hat In Time Review (Switch), Nintendo Life (October 24, 2019)](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/a_hat_in_time)
5. [The best platformers on PC, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/best-platformers/)
6. [A Hat in Time: Nyakuza Metro (Switch) Review, Nintendo World Report](https://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/52289/a-hat-in-time-nyakuza-metro-switch-review)
7. [Review: A Hat in Time: Nyakuza Metro, Destructoid](https://www.destructoid.com/review-a-hat-in-time-nyakuza-metro/)
8. [How do I access the Nyakuza Metro DLC?, A Hat in Time support](https://support.hatintime.com/hc/en-us/articles/360012080619-How-do-I-access-the-Nyakuza-Metro-DLC)
9. [A Hat in Time: Seal the Deal Review for PlayStation 4, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps4/316259-a-hat-in-time-seal-the-deal/reviews/175052)
10. [A Hat In Time Review, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/a-hat-in-time-review/1900-6416786/)
11. [A Hat in Time review, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/a-hat-in-time-review/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Game genres › Action, adventure, and role-playing games › Platform games*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license