Summary
The “trapped in a time loop” tropehas made its way into many different games. However, few of them give players an open world to explore while trapped in said loop. Some open-world games like to use large, free-roaming environments to create a massive sense of scale.
However, some older games still achieved their open-world status by interlinking linear stage designs that players could return to at any time. When these two concepts are put together, developers need to work out just how much time they should allow players based on the scale of their games.
7Pathologic 2
Players Have 12 In-Game Days
Pathologic 2takes place during a deadly outbreak within the limits of a small town. Don’t think this means the game has a small map; players will spend a great deal of their time moving through the streets inthis isolating open-world environment. This is an adventure game filled with dialogue choices and interesting characters. Each day only lasts a certain amount of time, and quests are time-limited.
Players will also need to buy and trade to manage their hunger and health to make it to the next day. This means time is of the essence, and players cannot dawdle doing amountain of side activities. The game world itself is very unsettling and macabre, making for an experience that will leave its mark on players.
6Minit
Players Have 60 Seconds
Minitgets its name from players only having just one minute to beat the game. Luckily, players get to keep all the items they find to use for the next minute. This turns the game into a sequence of trial and error runs to find something new each time. Players can treat this as overcoming the next hurdle and completing their current objective in the time allowed.
Players may have an unlimited number of attempts, but completing each milestone is a satisfying experience that many players will look back on with fond memories.
Players Have 3 In-Game Days
Players get to tear through waves of the undead horde intheDead Risinggames. Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is a visual overhaul of the original Dead Rising game. While this is the first game in the franchise, it is still heralded as the best one for players to try out. The game gives players 72 in-game hours to complete the entire main story, or it’s game over.
This creates a constant sense of urgency and adds to the thrill of players having to charge through and avoid zombies while making their way to their next goal. This works in the game’s favor, as the simple combat would get rather repetitive if players sandboxed for too long.
4Outer Wilds
Players Have 22 Real-World Minutes
Outer Wildstakes place near a star that is 22 real-world minutes from going supernova and destroying everything. When this happens, it triggers a time loop. This gives players a chance totake what they learned and do better.Outer Wildsgameplay is just as fascinating as its story.
There are so many moments where players will experience the thrill of discovering the more they play. The game does not rely on combat and instead uses platforming, puzzle elements, and a thrilling narrative to keep driving players forward.
3Pikmin
Players Have 30 In-Game Days
There are few games that let playersscratch their Pikmin itch. InPikmin, players will control Olimar and be tasked with fixing his ship in under 30 days. Players may hear 30 days and think that is a lot of time. However, each day inPikmanis only 13 minutes long. This means players need to gather enough of Olimar’s ship parts in under 6.5 real-world hours. If players fail, Olimar will be left stranded on the planet in the game’s bad ending.
Players can learn how to get each ship part in multiple runs and then test their skill to get all the parts in one run for the game’s true ending. The game features a large open overworld that branches into various caves and more linear areas that act like traditional levels.
2Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game
Players Have 500 In-Game Days
A lot of players know and lovethe post-apocalyptic franchise that isFallout. While more modern entries in the franchise give players all the time they need to brave the wastelands, the first entry gave players just 150 days to complete their initial main quest of repairing the water system to their home Vault by finding a replacement Water Chip.
However, there is a second timer for players to worry about. The Master’s Plan gives players only 500 days to complete the entire game from start to finish. The longer they take, the more Super Mutants will start invading until the wastelands are completely overrun, and the player will need to start the game over.
This 500-day hard limit was later made optional. Keeping it on allows players to experience the urgency of the original game as it was intended.
1The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Maskand its 3DS variant feature a large, interconnected world that players can freely roam around in. While it may not feature vast pastures, this still merits it a place among open-world games thanks to the ability for players to freely return to areas and undergo numerous side quests. In 3 in-game days, just under 1 real-world hour, the moon will crash into the game world and reset the cycle.
Each of theZeldagamesis a unique experience, despite some having dominant similarities. Majora’s Mask has players trapped in a repeating cycle. Players can reset this cycle using the Song of Time, but NPC behavior and events will play out as they did in previous cycles. Players will lose all consumable items, effects on the world, and their progress with NPCs, and open chests will become closed once again.
