The idea of being trapped in a time loop has been explored extensively in fiction, with one of the most notable examples being the 1993 film Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day specifically has gone on to inspire countless other time loop films, television episodes, and even video games. Interest in time loop stories seems to be at an all-time high in 2021, as there have been numerous high profile games released that use a time loop gimmick.
All of these games have earned positive reviews from critics and fans, and some of them have been huge financial successes as well. It's unclear why developers decided to go all-in on time loop games all in the same year, but it has resulted in interesting and unique gameplay experiences.
Here are five of the most notable time loop games that have released in 2021.
Deathloop
Deathloop is the latest game from Arkane Studios, the developers behind critically-acclaimed first-person franchise Dishonored. Deathloop plays very similarly to Dishonored, with playable characters Colt and Julianna having access to a variety of abilities that feel like they were pulled directly from Arkane's previous work. But one big way that Deathloop differs from Dishonored is thanks to its time loop gimmick, with players having to relive the same day over and over again.
The ultimate goal in Deathloop is to kill all of the Visionaries within the span of a single day. To do this, Deathloop players have to thoroughly explore the environment, collecting clues that help them discover the ideal order and method of killing all of the Visionaries in the game. Deathloop players are able to spend Residuum to keep weapons and other helpful items that they've collected in the game, so even though they're constantly having to restart from the beginning, they are always slightly better off than they were in the previous loop.
Deathloop is one of the more forgiving time loop games on the market. While players do have to restart from the beginning every time they die, going through an entire loop takes less than half an hour, and the game isn't really designed to be punishing in any way. It lets players experience the goofiness of a time loop without burdening them with an overbearing difficulty, making it an ideal starting point for anyone who is curious about how a video game works within this concept.
Lemnis Gate
The vast majority of time loop video games are single-player games, as it seems like it would be difficult to pull off a time loop gimmick in a multiplayer setting. And while that's true, Lemnis Gate proves that it's possible to create a compelling multiplayer experience that exists within the confines of a time loop. Lemnis Gate is a hero shooter where players control one character at a time, complete an action with them, and then try again with another character, all the while their original action still plays out exactly as it did before.
Lemnis Gate's time loop gimmick makes for unique gameplay opportunities not really found in other first-person shooter games or games in general. And while FPS skill is still important for pulling off victories, the game is just as much about strategy and making the right moves. Lemnis Gate is like chess with guns because of this, and it's definitely worth checking out for
Returnal
The time loop gimmick works well in a roguelike setting, and it really shines in Returnal by Housemarque Studios. Returnal is an incredibly challenging third-person shooter game where players have to survive in harsh alien environments. For Returnal players, the goal is to find upgrades necessary to defeat the game's more challenging bosses, all the while doing everything possible to stay alive as death means starting the game back over at the beginning.
Whereas time loops are treated as fun mechanics in games like Deathloop and Lemnis Gate, Returnal presents it as something horrifying and inescapable. Returnal tells a dark and depressing story, where every time protagonist Selene dies, she wakes back up on the planet she's stranded on, with time having reset. Mix in some psychological horror tricks and Returnal is certainly a time loop game that will stick with players for the long haul.
The Forgotten City
Starting life out as a popular Skyrim mod, The Forgotten City is an intriguing time loop game where players solve a mystery in an ancient Roman city. The Forgotten City is about talking to characters and collecting information that in turn allows players to manipulate the time loop, which is quite a bit different from the guns-blazing approach taken by most of the other time loop games that have come out this year. The Forgotten City has managed to step out of Skyrim's shadow with its standalone release, earning mostly positive reviews from critics at the time of its release.
Twelve Minutes
Twelve Minutes presents a time loop mystery of its own, with players having to act within a 12 minute timeframe to prevent their wife from dying at the hands of a cop. Like other time loop games, Twelve Minutes players have to figure out how they can manipulate the time loop with their choices in order to reach their goal, though Twelve Minutes does stand apart from the pack due to its stacked cast.
The main characters in Twelve Minutes are voiced by top-tier Hollywood talent like Daisy Ridley, James McAvoy, and Willem Dafoe. Their performances help bring the emotional, high stakes story to life. Anyone curious about Twelve Minutes but aren't quite sold on it yet can do so with a relatively low cost of entry thanks to the game being readily available on Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass service.