How Clockwork Revolution's Time-Bending Environmental Destruction Could Impact Combat

inXile entertainment

By Justin Skiles

Published May 9, 2024

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inXile entertainment

Highlights

Clockwork Revolution's time bending mechanics and destructible environments could offer unique gameplay opportunities in combat.
InXile has been secretive about details, with only a trailer and bread crust texture reveal sparking player speculation.
Still, rewinding time in combat and altering environments will likely play a major role in Clockwork Revolution's narrative and mechanics.

The trailer for inXile’s Clockwork Revolution gave fans a look into a new world full of potential, but one moment in the trailer might raise more questions than answers. Clockwork Revolution’s time bending mechanics, when coupled with its destructible environments, create gameplay opportunities that could greatly impact the combat in the game.

InXile has been tight-lipped about the details of Clockwork Revolution. So far, the only information revealed aside from the trailer has been a look at Clockwork Revolution’s bread crust texture. This has left players combing through the trailer for any information they can find about gameplay. One of the most telling moments comes when the player causes a bridge to collapse, taking out an enemy standing atop it. The player then reverses time, bringing the bridge back to its original position. A strange detail though, is that the frame cuts out whether the enemy returns to life alongside the bridge. This question brings with it queries about how the combat and time alteration mechanics will impact each other.

Clockwork Revolution Has the Perfect Blueprint for Its RPG Elements

Inxile's new first-person shooter/RPG hybrid Clockwork Revolution has a rich pedigree of RPG mechanics to borrow from its developer's previous work.

Clockwork Revolution’s Combat Hinges on Narrative Cohesion

Combat has become a main mechanic in games, almost always being present in some form. With the premise of Clockwork Revolution touching on rebellion, the FPS title is sure to have its share of enemies that need dispatching. While it looks like there will be plenty of unique mechanics and interesting weapons, time travel and alteration are at the heart of Clockwork Revolution’s story, and should take center stage in most of the game’s mechanics. As such, the prospect of rewinding time during combat is one that fans ought to get used to, because it will almost certainly be required.

In addition to the time-based mechanics, it also looks like Clockwork Revolution will include destructible environments. This touch works well in both combat and potential puzzle solving sections, and could be a standout inclusion if handled correctly. With Clockwork Revolution's setting constantly in flux as the player alters the timeline, it makes sense that the game’s environment will be as well. This narrative unity is paramount to making sure the combat, environment, and story work as one. If even one piece of that triad falters, the other two will fall with it. So, developers will need to make sure that any combat sections allow for and encourage players to alter the environment.

How Time-Based Mechanics Can Change Combat

Of the various weapons that will be included in Clockwork Revolution, it's clear that at least one of them will let players rewind time, meaning that combat could take place in 4 dimensions rather than the 3 that players are used to. Not much has been confirmed, but among what is known about Clockwork Revolution is that time travel will permiate the experience. It's clear in the trailer that players can rewind the environment, but what else might be affected by this mechanic is yet to be seen. Perhaps different types of rewind weapons might allow the player to reshape the past of people, leading enemies back to a different location to avoid a fight entirely. If the power works on smaller objects, like bullets, players might get to live out their Matrix fantasy as projectiles fly past them in reverse, back toward their adversary.

The fate of that enemy atop the bridge in the trailer raises one very important question, though, and that is what happens to enemies as time rewinds? This might be the biggest implication of them all. If the villains return each time the player reshapes the environment, that would add new layers of thought to combat. Players would have to consider if it’s best to destroy the environment to take out an enemy that may return later, or leave it intact and find another way to win the fight. All of these possibilities play into the incredible potential of worldbuilding in Clockwork Revolution. Whatever form combat takes, it must agree with the narrative and mechanics of Clockwork Revolution. As long as it does that well, this may become a game with combat on a whole new level.