Time Hollow follows Ethan Kairos, a boy who finds a strange pen that can open holes in time. When his parents disappear, he has to rewrite events from the past in order to set his timeline right.
The gameplay focuses on exploring locations and drawing circles on the Nintendo DS touch screen to form temporal rifts. Through these openings, players can watch past events and place items into them to alter what happens in the present.
The game places strong emphasis on dialogue and branching narrative paths. Progress relies on finding the right clues and using the Hollow Pen at the proper moment to get past obstacles.