Board 8 > What is the best time loop game of 2021?

(+) Yeah! (+)

This year was, for some reason, full of time loop games. I really dig this genre when it's done well, so I'm glad there's so many this year. But what is the best one?

I hope I haven't missed any games (thanks Arti for telling me about Re:Zero) or included any that shouldn't qualify. Apologies if I have!

(Please mark specific spoilers for each game!)

Returnal

Honorable mention to Gnosia, though.

Of the three I played, Loop Hero was meh, Twelve Minutes sucked super hard, and Forgotten City was amazing

Inject all time loop media directly into my veins

(But Forgotten City if I had to choose)

I'd rather have to many time loop games than to back to having too many zombie games tbh

Nope inject all zombie games into me as well. They can mix together and spit out the perfect zombie time loop game.

Forgotten City was fucking awesome

FFDragon posted...

Inject all time loop media directly into my veins

this

I'll say Forgotten City from what I've seen so far. I can't wait to get a PS5 for Deathloop and Returnal though.

FFDragon posted...

Nope inject all zombie games into me as well. They can mix together and spit out the perfect zombie time loop game.

Zombie time loop actually sounds like a pretty great game idea

Kenri posted...

Zombie time loop actually sounds like a pretty great game idea

It'll definitely happen eventually

I only played one of these, though I definitely want to play Deathloop sooner or later

The one I played was Echoes of the Eye, but that was like, almost as good as the original game

Has zombie time loop seriously not been done yet?

Welp looks like I need to get to work

I haven't played any of them (except the original Forgotten City mod for Skyrim), but the one I most want to play is Deathloop, with Forgotten City coming second.

^ I guess you could maybe consider the Dead Rising series to be zombie timeloops, except the loop isn't part of the story, just a gameplay mechanic where you're expected to restart several times before you get everything right.

I just started Deathloop and while it feels somewhat polished, the end of loop feels like its missing something and so far the enemy AI hasn't advanced beyond "lure around a corner and melee them to death".

I am really early in though so I am curious if it will get better.

red13n posted...

I just started Deathloop and while it feels somewhat polished, the end of loop feels like its missing something and so far the enemy AI hasn't advanced beyond "lure around a corner and melee them to death".

I am really early in though so I am curious if it will get better.

deathloop is more about the narrative in my humble opinion. you'll have a better time if you view it as "bioshock with a twist" rather than a full-on timey wimey sandbox

i liked it enough to finish it, as i am propelled by mystery. on the other hand, my friend bailed maybe 70% of the way through due to gameplay complaints- they were hoping for more of a "hitman" experience. perhaps strangely, they have finished loop hero

thanks for making this topic, andy. i've only heard of a few of these games and played even fewer. i'll be putting them on my watchlist

banananor posted...

i liked it enough to finish it, as i am propelled by mystery.

It probably has me hooked to the end I would wager. I just really want a difficulty slider because some of the tension it felt like it had initially fell off the map.

Overboard! and The Forgotten City are the ones I'd recommend.

red13n posted...

It probably has me hooked to the end I would wager. I just really want a difficulty slider because some of the tension it felt like it had initially fell off the map.

agreed. if only it was possible to have an AI slider

I haven't played any of these but I like the Outer Wilds base game more than I liked the Re:Zero anime.

I wouldn't really call Loop Hero a timeloop game

Paratroopa1 posted...

I wouldn't really call Loop Hero a timeloop game

I wasn't sure if that one counted (haven't played it yet) but it was described as such in a few places.

TheArkOfTurus posted...

Honorable mention to Gnosia, though.

Rats, I knew I'd miss something out. Didn't know this was a time loop game! Apologies to Gnosia fans.

banananor posted...

thanks for making this topic, andy. i've only heard of a few of these games and played even fewer. i'll be putting them on my watchlist

Hey thanks, I'm glad several of us have a specific fondness for time loop stories! I've just started Forgotten City and love its vibe, the premise is golden and I hope the narrative follows through!

andylt posted...

I wasn't sure if that one counted (haven't played it yet) but it was described as such in a few places.

Weird. "Loop" in the game's name doesn't refer to a timeloop but rather walking a looping road, and while you do have to keep doing the same things over and over and kill the same enemies, that's really only because the enemies keep resurrecting, not because you keep time traveling back to before they were dead. I don't think time travel is ever a part of the game's lore. It's no more a timeloop game than any other roguelike, really.

I have played several of these, and it is definitely Forgotten City

Concept: Zombie time loop game where as you slowly find a cure the zombies become progressively less decayed and more human and you have to face the moral decision of at what point killing them isn't still justifiable

are any of these games better than 13 Sentinels

I wouldn't call 13 Sentinels a time loop game

i forgot gnosia counted as this year oops

13 Sentinels is definitely a time loop game.

It also however, was not this year.

The actual best time loop game I'd say but is a massive spoiler for it so I won't.

tcaz2 posted...

The actual best time loop game I'd say but is a massive spoiler for it so I won't.

Someone else played Slide in the Woods too!

tcaz2 posted...

13 Sentinels is definitely a time loop game.

It also however, was not this year.

The actual best time loop game I'd say but is a massive spoiler for it so I won't.

Something tells me you haven't played the actual time loop games in the poll

I didn't even know 13 Sentinels had time loop mechanics, now I'm even more excited for the port!

Surprised Overboard has no votes, I recall that being strongly recommended by someone when we were discussing 12 Minutes.

I dont even know what overboard is

MoogleKupo141 posted...

I dont even know what overboard is

same but Im interested now

Overboard is a very cool game! You're a woman who just killed your husband on a boat from Europe to America, and your goal is to avoid getting caught by the detective before you arrive. It's basically like an adventure game (closer to a visual novel format, but not quite) where you explore the boat, talk to the other characters, and decide how to deal with them. There are a lot of different methods you can choose in this with several different outcomes. The humor's really good and it's just plain a lot of fun to play a reverse murder mystery.

The Forgotten City beated! Great game, I love the atmosphere and it's pretty bold with some of the issues it explores. I'm glad it doesn't shy away from long dialogues. I have a few lingering questions and a few quibbles here and there, but overall the primary way I'd improve the game would be to give some of the characters more depth, more interactions, to have it more thoroughly explore its themes, etc. It's a good sign for a game when my primary criticism is 'I want more of it'!

I am very excited to see what this team does next, I hope they get a bigger budget and more resources to do whatever they like.

Hm, I feel like a bump.

Bought Overboard btw, look forward to playing that :) And I will of course get Outer Wilds if/when the DLC ever goes on sale.

Hell yes Overboard. Hope you like it!

More stuff in Forgotten City would've been nice, but I like the compactness of it too. Everything fits together perfectly.