Name: Back to the Future: The Game – Episode 1: It’s About Time
Item: Back to the Future: The Game – Episode 1: It’s About Time
Author: Retro Replay

Back to the Future: The Game – Episode 1: It’s About Time

It’s About Time opens with exactly the kind of problem Marty McFly should have: Doc is gone, his belongings are being sold off, and then the DeLorean abruptly returns carrying a plea for help from 1931. That setup gets you into the adventure quickly, with Marty racing into the past to save Doc from a mob after his arrest for burning down a speakeasy.

This is a traditional point-and-click adventure wearing a third-person 3D coat. You explore, collect inventory items, question people, and work through dialogue choices when information matters more than an object. As the first chapter of a five-episode story, it feels built to establish the rescue mission and leave you wanting to see where Marty’s trip through 1931 leads.

Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first stretch has an immediate hook: Marty is trying to preserve what he can of Doc’s life just as the DeLorean turns up with proof that something has gone badly wrong. Once the car sends him to 1931, the game settles into familiar adventure-game territory. You move Marty through scenes, inspect the space around him, pick up useful objects, and look for the connections that will get him closer to Doc.

Interaction is classic point and click, but movement is handled a little differently. You can guide Marty with direction keys or drag him with the mouse, rather than simply clicking a destination and forgetting about him. That extra bit of direct control suits the third-person format, though gamers who want the purest old-school cursor-driven adventure may need a moment to adjust.

The puzzles lean mainly on inventory use, so progress often comes from noticing what an item could change or unlock. Conversations matter too: gathering the right information and selecting the appropriate dialogue can be part of the solution. That mix keeps the game from becoming only an exercise in combining objects, but it also means you should pay attention when characters give you a useful lead instead of clicking through every exchange.

Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 1: It's About Time — screenshot 1 — Back to the Future: The Game – Episode 1: It's About Time — screenshot 1

Graphics

You see the action from a third-person camera in real-time 3D, with fixed, pivoting, and scrolling viewpoints guiding each area. The changing camera angles give the scenes a cinematic adventure-game feel while keeping Marty and the objects around him in view.

Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 1: It's About Time — screenshot 2 — Back to the Future: The Game – Episode 1: It's About Time — screenshot 2

Story

Doc’s disappearance gives this episode more urgency than a casual nostalgia tour. The 1986 opening places Marty in the uncomfortable position of watching Doc’s home and possessions get cleared away, a strong reminder that his friend has been absent for a long time. Then the DeLorean arrives, turning that loss into a direct rescue mission.

The jump to 1931 is a smart change of pressure. Doc is not merely lost in time; he has been arrested after a speakeasy fire and faces furious mob retaliation. Marty’s goal is wonderfully clear: find Doc and get him out before the situation gets worse. That simple objective is a good fit for an opening episode because every conversation and puzzle can point back toward the same problem.

As episode one of a five-part game, It’s About Time is more interested in launching a larger adventure than closing every door behind it. If you enjoy Back to the Future most when Marty has to think fast around the consequences of time travel, the premise gives you a solid reason to continue.

Overall Experience

It’s About Time works best as a compact, story-led adventure with a recognizable hero, a time-travel emergency, and puzzles that ask you to search carefully rather than rush ahead. The opening’s mix of Doc’s missing status, the DeLorean’s return, and the trip to 1931 gives the chapter a strong forward pull.

The trade-off is that this is deliberately an episode, not a self-contained epic. You are stepping into the first part of a five-episode rescue story, so the satisfaction comes from joining Marty’s investigation and seeing the larger situation take shape. Go in ready to follow dialogue, test inventory ideas, and accept that the main crisis is designed to continue beyond this chapter.

Give it a chance if you want a licensed adventure that puts Marty at the center of a clear Doc-rescue plot and keeps its problem solving rooted in pointing, clicking, talking, and using what you find. It earns its 7.7 with a strong opening premise and a dependable adventure-game structure, even if the episodic format means the full payoff lies ahead rather than entirely here.