Most video games are two-dimensional or three-dimensional. Most… but no everybody. Today, we’re celebrating games that dip their toes into the under-appreciated and under-explored. four dimension: Weather.
Unfortunately for us 3D peasants, we’re forced to experience time linearly, going from Tuesday to Wednesday as commoners, unable to revisit the previous Monday’s salad days and make sure we didn’t pull that terrible prank on the dining table, or spilling spaghetti sauce all over our nice new sweater. But hey! At least we play video games, a medium where nothing is set in stone and everything can be saved, and the Time Loop subgenre exists as a narrative framing device. Hurrah!
Now a Bad Weather Loop Game: Coughtwelve minutescough: will force the player through tedious replays and puzzling branches to change the past/present/future, but a Okay The time loop game will always provide momentum forward, constantly turning and adjusting the loop to intrigue the player and throw unanswered questions in their taunting face. These are the games we’ve included on this list: the ones that delight, surprise, amaze, and are generally more twisted than headphone cords just pulled out of your pocket.
Before continuing, please note that this article, by its very nature, will be a bit of a spoiler. Some games don’t reveal themselves as time loops until 20 minutes; others save it for an Act Three twist. So be careful, because you can’t go back and stop reading this article!
Now, let’s get stuck before going back to the beginning of this article to try again!
Editor: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD
The prototypical time loop game. Of course it’s here. Majora’s Mask thrusts our boy Link into a three-day cycle that repeats forever until he can figure out how to stop the moon from crashing into Earth. One would think that stopping Ganon was the most risky plot for a Zelda game, but no: this standalone adventure is one of the darkest and most harrowing Zeldas out there.
Editor: tequila jobs / Developer: Cavalier Game Studios
The title of this one might be a bit off-putting, but don’t be put off: The Brutal Sexy It’s not as sexy as it sounds. It is still beautiful, unusual and absolutely collides with murders, all of which you’ll have to solve in (you guessed it) one time loop.
Observation and a solid understanding of the time-sensitive patterns at each stage of the game are beneficial to progression. You have to watch the characters through keyholes, cracks in cabinets, and even decipher their patterns from non-obvious clues, to save each one from one grisly murder…and unlock the next. Although it performs a bit poorly on Switch, it’s a must-play for fans of time loops.
Editor: Return Digital / Developer: Four rooms
Many time-loop games are narrative-driven: find out why you’re in the time-loop in the first place, fix things, repeat, but loop hero it is also a mechanical loop.
Every time you go on a new Expedition, your hero will spawn on a newly spawned short path that only takes a couple of minutes to walk through. Your hero just walks forward in the loop and automatically fights anything that gets in his way, so it’s up to you. your to put things in his way that will make him stronger. You can go easy on him if you want, but then the boss will butcher him at the end of the expedition. However, if you make it too hard, he won’t even get that far. It’s repetitive, but there are a million things to juggle at all times.
Editor: dear villagers / Developer: modern storyteller
In forgotten citya Skyrim-mod turned into a full game, you (a modern day person) are teleported to the year 65 AD. C., to a small Roman city that is under some kind of curse. And, this being a video game, you have to fix it.
If any person breaks “The Golden Rule”, all the world in the city it will instantly turn into a golden statue, a fact backed up by the golden statues scattered around the houses and streets, and the warnings they somehow had time to carve before transforming. However, the townspeople don’t know exactly what “The Golden Rule” is, so they live in fear, hedge their bets, and try not to commit any sins. But it’s only a matter of time before someone breaks it, accidentally or not.
And since it’s a time-loop game, it’s your job to figure out A) what the curse is, B) how to stop breaking it, and C) how to fix everything. Leave now.
Editor: Return Digital / Developer: Return Digital
What if Link (from Zelda) was stuck in a time loop? Forget it that game already existsbecause we’re trying to tell you about minita charming black and white game that unfolds in 60-second chunks.
Minit plays with the time loop concept in interesting new ways, like having a character that can give you vital information, but talks very slowly, taking up the full 60 seconds, but doesn’t stick around long enough to stick around longer than expected. 60 seconds might not seem like enough, but it’s actually one of Minit’s strongest suits; a quick trial and error approach to progression. It will take you several tries to discern what is needed for each new obstacle you face, but the beauty of this is that death hardly feels like a punishment because, at worst, you’re only setting yourself back a minute.
Editor: Atlus / Developer: vanilla
The magnificent and dynamic narrative game. 13 sentinels It’s about ten different genres, all mixed in a single video game. It’s science fiction, it’s mechanical combat, it’s strategy, it’s romance visual novel… and it also has a time-loop business, because why not? Thank goodness for the game’s comprehensive library of archived information and reminders of what the story is about, because it can be hard to follow, but this incredible narrative as a whole is well worth the effort.
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Editor: finji / Developer: north games
In I was a teenage exocolonist, your whole life is ahead. And behind you. Everything he learns on the newly colonized planet Vertumna will help him navigate present and future events, helping him make better decisions and a better world as well. We criticized the game for being a bit too much nice — Not enough severe consequences, not enough danger, but your kindness is also precisely why we recommend it. The generosity of spirit in the game and the story seeps through every pore of Exocolonist. If this world captures his imagination, you’ll get an amazing performance out of it.
