You ever feel like time has stood still? Like a first kiss, or holding your newborn child, or when four multicoloured space cowboys gun you down in the street, or everyone leaps out for a surprise party?
Me too, especially that third one. Entirely that third one, actually, because I've been playing a bunch of the demo for Enter the Chronosphere, which just aired a splashy, timey-wimey new trailer at The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted, announcing an open beta and showing off its tactico-turn-based gameplay.
It looks and feels great, I have to say. If you've played Arco, imagine a fast-paced, roguelike version of the combat in that. If you've not played Arco, then imagine a turn-based combat system where all turns happen simultaneously. Time only moves when you move. Until you decide on what you're doing next, bullets hang in the air, enemies stand in place, bombs hang on their timers. But once you've decided to move, or shoot, or reload, or any other action, the whole world takes a step forward.
It's very good fun, and creates a sense of movement and action that's frenetic and strategic all at the same time as you shift from pondering your next move to setting the whole world into mad, chaotic action.
That only gets sharper as you pack upgrade after upgrade onto your character (one of several, each with their own abilities). By the end of my most recent run through the demo, I had a ferocious super shotgun upgraded to spit out tens of pellets that ricocheted and exploded, and which I insta-reloaded whenever I moved. Naturally, I ended up killing myself before any enemies could even wing me.
It's immensely good fun, on top of being very nice to look at, with its multi-hued, cartoony cowboys and weird alien landscapes. I highly recommend checking it out if you're a sicko for roguelikes, strategy, or killing yourself ignominously. Lucky for you, the open beta's available now over on Steam.
