Why I Downloaded Bad time simulator
Look, I love Undertale, but I don’t have time to replay the whole game just to get my butt kicked by Sans again. A few months back, I was on a long train commute on a Tuesday, bored out of my mind, and remembered how much I hated dying to that stupid bone attack sequence. I searched for something that would let me jump straight into the fight to practice. That’s how I found Bad Time Simulator. It promised no story, no exploration, just the raw, punishing boss battles. For my specific need—grinding that muscle memory—it sounded perfect. I downloaded it right there on my Galaxy A54, hoping it wouldn’t be another janky fan game that wasted my time.
Standout Features
This app knows its audience. It doesn’t try to be anything fancy. You get a short list of fights: Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, and Mettaton. That’s it. The magic is in the accuracy. They nailed Sans’s attack patterns. The way the bones slide across the screen, the timing of the Gaster Blasters, even the little “ding” sound when you avoid a hit—it’s all ripped straight from the source. Having the real Megalovania track playing is non-negotiable for the vibe, and it’s here. I also have to give credit for the difficulty slider. When I first opened it, I got annihilated in ten seconds. Being able to crank the damage down to “Practice” mode let me actually learn the patterns instead of just feeling frustrated. It’s a focused tool, not a bloated game.
Daily Use Experience
Using this app is a love-hate relationship. When it works, it’s incredibly satisfying. Last week, after maybe my hundredth attempt, I finally survived Sans’s opening barrage without taking a hit. That tiny win made my whole morning coffee break feel productive. But the app fights you almost as much as the bosses do. The virtual D-pad on my phone feels floaty. In calm moments it’s fine, but the second the screen fills with lasers and bones, my character seems to slide a little further than I tapped. I’ve died so many times because I overshot a gap by a pixel. The other major issue is screen clutter. During Undyne’s spear attacks, the flashy effects sometimes completely hide smaller, incoming projectiles. It feels cheap, like the game killed me, not my lack of skill. For a busy person, that kind of unfair death is just annoying. It makes me want to put the phone down, not try again.
Cost Breakdown
It’s free. You can’t argue with that price. There are no nagging screens to buy power-ups or unlock characters. The monetization is just a small banner ad at the bottom of the menu screens. It does pop up between your attempts, which is a minor irritation when you’re trying to quickly restart after a dumb death. But honestly, for a passion project that delivers the core Sans experience with this much detail, I’m happy to glance at an ad. I’ve paid for games that gave me less focused fun. They could have easily put the harder fights behind a paywall, and they didn’t. That earns a lot of goodwill from me.
Support Experience
I’ve never contacted support because, frankly, the app just runs. It hasn’t crashed on me or failed to open. My judgment here is based on what I’ve seen in the app store updates and comments. The developer, fari-dev, updates this thing maybe once or twice a year. The updates are usually to fix a game-breaking bug or tweak a hitbox. It’s clearly a side project. I don’t expect a dedicated support team for a free fan game. The community fills in the gaps; I found a Reddit thread that explained a weird control quirk I was experiencing. You’re not getting professional polish, but you’re also not paying for it.
Privacy Verdict
The app’s Google Play listing is pretty bare bones on the privacy details. It says it may collect location data for ads, but I haven’t noticed any creepy, targeted ads related to my location or other habits. It feels low-impact. Since it’s a simple, offline-capable game that doesn’t require an account, I’m not overly worried. It’s not a banking app. I’m more concerned about its performance hiccups than it harvesting my data. For a casual game like this, the privacy footprint seems minimal and standard for free apps with banner ads.
Which boss fights are included in Bad Time Simulator?
The app includes four fights from Undertale: Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, and Mettaton. It focuses purely on replicating these battles with high accuracy, including the original attack patterns and music like Megalovania.
Does the app have a difficulty setting for beginners?
Yes, there is a difficulty slider that lets you reduce damage to a 'Practice' mode. This allows you to learn attack patterns without getting instantly overwhelmed, making it much easier to build muscle memory over time.
The controls feel unresponsive or floaty during intense fights. What can I do?
This is a common issue with the virtual D-pad on phones, especially during fast attacks. Try reducing the in-game speed or damage in the settings to give yourself more reaction time, and consider using a phone with a responsive screen or a Bluetooth controller if available.
Why do I keep dying to projectiles I can't see behind screen effects?
During attacks like Undyne's spears, flashy visual effects can sometimes hide smaller incoming projectiles. To mitigate this, you can lower the visual effects or brightness in the app's settings, or focus on memorizing the timing of patterns rather than relying solely on visual cues.
How does Bad Time Simulator compare to playing the actual Sans fight in Undertale?
It's a focused, stripped-down version that replicates the fight mechanics and music almost perfectly, but without any story or exploration. Unlike the original game, it offers a practice mode and difficulty slider, making it better for grinding specific patterns, though the mobile touch controls can feel less precise than a keyboard or controller.
