8 Video Games That Used Time Itself Against You
Can't be late!
We all know the sheer panic that sets in when you realise you're running late for something. Be it a meeting, social encounter or just to get down to the local cornershop to grab a questionable ham roll before it closes, the concept of time being against you is truly terrifying, because no matter how hard you try, the tick-tock of time will always get the better of you.
Phew! maybe we should step back from the mounting existential crisis and take some time to play video games, you know, carve out a piece of our life clock to escape for a bit into a world of fantasy and digital delight? Well I hate to break it to you but video game developers are very aware of this mounting fear of the countdown clock and have in numerous forms used the notion of time itself to challenge the player.
Whether through timed boss battles, games that run within a time loop, or simply eating so much of your personal life that it becomes impossible to escape, video games can definitely be great experiences, but not all are fun times.
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Script adapted from WhatCulture Gaming's Youtube channel - watch here!
8. XCOM 2
Oh Xcom 2 you glorious bastard. Somehow you managed to take an already winning formula that was present in the original series and dial the tension up to 11. For you see now not only did you have to tackle extremely challenging enemies who rival you in tactical skill and outclass you in terms of firepower, but now you had to do so with a TIME LIMIT.
Not content with letting players hunker down and work the averages and percentages to their favour, the Firaxis dev team decided that for Xcom 2 they were going to instil objectives that forced players up the map and into dangerous territory. After two or three turns you might lose precious resources and intel or even let a key figure escape unless you pushed deep into dangerous areas.
It made picking your cover even more essential than it was before, and put an even great fear in players of losing precious team mates.
From a gameplay perspective this made the entire experience feel more desperate and genuinely tense, but from a players perspective we were all crying "Are you KIDDING me?!" as the spectre of the devs hung above the battle tapping the face of it's watch with an evil smile on their face.