[1] Written by Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel,[2] the plot in the style of a detective story of the noir crime genre is set in the USA of the 1930s.

[5] Info rated Borrowed Time four stars out of five, describing it as "a big step forward in the realm of 'interactive entertainment' ... a tonic to jaded adventurers", and praising the game's graphics, parser, and humor.

said that the game had "more plot turns and twists than a backwoods mountain road", with "unusually good" writing and graphics "chock full of cute touches".

wrote that "Activision has created a delightful game environment with the look and feel of those classic hardboiled detective movies and novels".

[7] Computer Gaming World's Charles Ardai called Borrowed Time "a superbly cinematic graphic adventure" that was too brief and deserved a sequel.