''Super Time Force'' is a side-scrolling

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

and

shooter Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, Bow and arrow, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or Blowgun, blowpipe). Even the acts of launching Flamethrower, flame, artillery, Dart (missile), darts, ha ...

video game by

Capybara Games Capybara Games is an independent game studio based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The studio was founded in 2003 from a collection of Toronto IGDA members. The company is most known for developing 2011's '' Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP'' ...

. The game was released for the

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

and the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

on May 14, 2014. The game was known for its ability for players to rewind themselves, using the "Time Out" game mechanic, back to an area where they started from when a character dies, and then resume their action alongside a ghost version of the original character. Its game mechanics and gameplay were inspired by other side-scrolling titles like ''

Contra Contra may refer to: Places * Contra, Virginia * Contra Costa Canal, an aqueduct in the U.S. state of California * Contra Costa County, California * Tenero-Contra, a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland ...

'' and ''

Metal Slug is a Japanese Shoot 'em up#Scrolling shooters, run and gun video game series originally created by Nazca Corporation before merging with SNK Playmore, SNK in 1996 after the completion of the Metal Slug (1996 video game), first game in the seri ...

'' with the abilities of time-travel. The game was later released in an updated version entitled ''Super Time Force Ultra'' on the Xbox platforms, and

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

through

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

and

GOG.com GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through it ...

on August 25, 2014, and on

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

and

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...

on September 1, 2015. Since its release, the game has received critical acclaim and awards for its humorous storytelling, gameplay, and original game mechanics.

Gameplay

Players have 30 lives to run through

bullet hell Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...

levels. When the player dies or voluntarily ends the run, the player can view and rewind their timestream to revisit the life of a prior

player-character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

's run or otherwise restart with a new run. There are over 16 different characters in each of the 6 stages with different weapons or powers of their own. In addition, the player can also use items like ' (clock items that reverse the time limit), shards (violet dust-like pixels that allow the player and the game's time limit to pass in slow motion; they are only visible if the player uses the "Time Out" mechanic) and ' (yellow diamond-shaped items that increase the player's number of lives by one, and are found on every level on certain areas or in enemies that are difficult to capture). Both shards and can be collected to unlock a new character when a certain number are obtained.

Plot

Commander Repeatski sends the Super Time Force, a time-traveling military organization, to various points in history such as

prehistoric times Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

, the

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, and the

future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

in order to make the present a better place to live.

Development

The game stems from a three-day experiment at the Toronto, Ontario Game Jam in May 2011. The

game jam A game jam is an event where participants try to make a video game from scratch. Depending on the format, participants might work independently, or in teams. The event duration usually ranges from 24 to 72 hours. Participants are generally program ...

event coalesced hundreds of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

-area game developers to build quick prototypes around a central theme: the phrase "what just happened." Kenneth Yeung of Capybara and artists Mike and Vic Nguyen brainstormed as a three-person team and decided to make a time-traveling

side-scrolling shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...

, "a ''

'' game where you can go back in time." This quickly became the core feature, where upon death, the player fought "alongside ghost versions of themselves doing what they had just done before they died." Dying created co-op partners of the player's recorded actions. Yeung described it as, "''

Gunstar Heroes ''Gunstar Heroes'' is a run-and-gun shooter video game developed by Treasure and published by Sega. It was Treasure's debut game, originally released on the Sega Genesis in 1993. The game's premise is centered around a pair of characters, the G ...

'' meets that one level in ''

Braid A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...

''."

At first the team was hesitant and noncommittal about continuing the experiment, but later decided to proceed as a Friday

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize a ...

. They added Greg Georgiadis as a designer and Jason DeGroot as a musician, and decided after 20 days of work to pursue the project seriously. Capybara released a gameplay teaser trailer on October 17, 2011 without explaining the footage. Around the same time, Microsoft awarded the game the 2012

Independent Games Festival The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of the independent video game industry. Originally founded in 1998 to promote independent video game developers, ...

XBLA Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independen ...

Award", a deal to publish the game on

Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...

. Capybara creative director Kris Piotrowski described the night as "a bit of a pinnacle moment" for the company and the risks it had taken. The deal did not have specific deadlines. The game debuted at

PAX East PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia in the United States; and Melbourne in Australia. PAX was ...

2012 without marketing. Capybara president Nathan Vella told ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...

'' that they wanted players to discover the game organically without having the concept spoiled. He also felt that the direct approach to gamers would create a small but loyal fan base, which the company preferred over broad marketing. By

PAX Prime PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia in the United States; and Melbourne in Australia. PAX was ...

2012, Capybara had removed mechanics where charging attacks depleted the time-life meter, and added multipliers (across multiple lives) for consecutive kills. In 2012, ''Super Time Force'' demos appeared at the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

iam8bit iam8bit, Inc. is a media production company, creative policy institute, and art exhibition based in Los Angeles, California. Development iam8bit was originally developed by video game and tech journalist Jon M. Gibson, in the summer of 2005 ...

, ''Polygon''s E3 party, and the annual

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

tournament. The core mechanic was redesigned by

2013. The game was easy for players who died often, as they would be helped by the ghosts, yet left experts at a disadvantage: improving at the game meant dying less and therefore using the ghost players (the core mechanics) less. The development team decided that players should be in control of time in order to make players use death strategically, and rethought the mechanic to let the player rewind and replay the lives of previous runs from a timeline upon death. The game was delayed until its release on May 14, 2014 to the

. It was also released to Windows on August 25, 2014 and to the PlayStation platforms on September 1, 2015.

Reception

''Super Time Force'' received favorable reviews from critics for its story, characters, colorful pixelated graphics, references to pop culture, and the unique ability for players to rewind back where they left off after their character dies using its game mechanic on each level's area as its checkpoint. ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...

s Matt Miller praised its playability and explained, "the reimagining of how we perceive time in an action game is what makes it memorable." Critics have pointed out some mild flaws to its repetitive life-saving throughout the game's time-out layers was seen somewhat confusing and overwhelming, but have still find its gameplay an enjoyable experience. ''

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

'' commented that the game "Feels a lot more tactical and technically impressive than it initially appears." But also added, "Manipulating time in video games isn't a new thing, but the way that ''STF'' uses the gimmick feels fresh and clever. Rewinding and playing through a chunk of game over and over creates hectic layers of action. It's chaotic but beautiful." ''Super Time Force'' won ''Gamespots Game of the Month Award of May 2014, The press also have added that the game "assumes a hilariously cavalier attitude about the rights and wrongs of fiddling with time, sending up every sci-fi time travel trope in the book." At the 2014 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR) awards the game was nominated for ''Game Design, New IP''. Arthur Gies of ''

'' was impressed by its often nonsensical narrative and concept and describe it as "The dumbest smart shooter I've ever played. The face it wears is the goofy nostalgist that can't be serious for even a moment, sure. But Capy's implementation of time travel and control is inspired enough to shine new light on even its most tired-but-excellently-executed inspirations." In a 2013 interview with

ScrewAttack Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC is an American digital media company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman, Rooster Teeth is a subsidiary of Warner ...

at PAX, Capybara president Nathan Vella was asked about the game's character Zackasaurus sharing some resemblance to late 1980s and early 1990s personas, Vella explain that ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' sketch series, ''

The Itchy & Scratchy Show ''The Itchy & Scratchy Show'' (often shortened as ''Itchy & Scratchy'') is a fictional animated television series featured on ''The Simpsons''. Description The show depicts a blue mouse named Itchy who repeatedly and violently maims or kills a ...

's'' character Poochie might be an inspiration for the character. Jordan Devore of ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ' ...

'' quoted "A satisfying run-and-gun game made even better with a fun (and funny!) take on time travel." He continued, "You'll likely be able to burn through the game in a few hours if you're not going for full completion, but it has such a winning personality that you'll find yourself coming back for more."

Legacy

''Super Time Force Ultra'', abbreviated as ''STFU'', was released on August 25, 2014. It features over 50 mission levels via the "Helladeck"; the

version of the game features guest characters owned by

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...

, such as the Pyro and Saxton Hale from ''

Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video game), Quake'' and ...

'' and Zoey from ''

Left 4 Dead ''Left 4 Dead'' is a 2008 first-person shooter game developed by Valve South and published by Valve. It was originally released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in November 2008 and for Mac OS X in October 2010, and is the first title in the ...

''. The

and

version of ''Ultra'' features

Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...

chairman

Shuhei Yoshida is a Japanese businessman and gaming industry veteran. He was the President of SIE Worldwide Studios for Sony Interactive Entertainment from 2008 to 2019, before moving onto other SIE-related projects. Yoshida has been a key member of the Play ...

as a playable character along with The Traveler from ''

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

'' and Sir Galahad from '' The Order: 1886''. Jean Rambois makes a cameo appearance in '' Mercenary Kings'' when the player can encounter him and receive a new weapon, while Zackasaurus appears in '' Indivisible'' as a playable character. Several characters from ''Super Time Force'' are also featured as part of a downloadable skin pack for the

sandbox game A sandbox game is a video game with a gameplay element that provides players a great degree of creativity to interact with, usually without any predetermined goal, or alternatively with a goal that the players set for themselves. Such games may ...

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being ...

''.

References

{{Reflist, 2, refs= {{cite web , url=http://www.polygon.com/2012/10/9/3478780/how-super-time-force-fell-into-capybaras-lap-and-yours , title=How 'Super Time Force' fell into Capybara's lap (and yours) , last1=Leone , first1=Matt , date=August 7, 2012 , work=

, publisher=

Vox Media Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company based in Washington, D.C., and New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''SB Nation'' (a sports blog network founded in 2005 by ...

, access-date=June 11, 2013 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507072102/http://www.polygon.com/2012/10/9/3478780/how-super-time-force-fell-into-capybaras-lap-and-yours , archive-date=May 7, 2013 , url-status=live {{cite web , url=http://www.polygon.com/2012/11/14/3549908/from-nowhere-to-sword-sworcery-capybaras-road-trip-to-indie-stardom , title=From nowhere to Sword & Sworcery: Capybara's road trip to indie stardom , last1=Lien , first1=Tracey , date=May 14, 2012 , work=

, publisher=

, access-date=June 11, 2013 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605034929/http://www.polygon.com/2012/11/14/3549908/from-nowhere-to-sword-sworcery-capybaras-road-trip-to-indie-stardom , archive-date=June 5, 2013 , url-status=live {{cite web , url=http://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/9/2/3287765/super-time-force-gets-prehistoric-on-an-asteroid-to-prevent-dinosaur , title='Super Time Force' gets prehistoric on an asteroid to prevent dinosaur extinction at PAX , last1=McWhertor , first1=Michael , date=September 2, 2012 , work=

, publisher=

, access-date=June 11, 2013 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605083747/http://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/9/2/3287765/super-time-force-gets-prehistoric-on-an-asteroid-to-prevent-dinosaur , archive-date=June 5, 2013 , url-status=live {{cite web , url=http://www.polygon.com/2013/3/22/4135668/super-time-force-pax-east-preview-capy , title=Super Time Force's time-travel mechanics have been reinvented and refined , last1=McElroy , first1=Griffin , date=March 22, 2013 , work=

, publisher=

, access-date=June 11, 2013 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605063102/http://www.polygon.com/2013/3/22/4135668/super-time-force-pax-east-preview-capy , archive-date=June 5, 2013 , url-status=live

External links

Official website
2014 video games Capybara Games games Game jam video games Independent Games Festival winners Indie video games Linux games MacOS games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Network games PlayStation Vita games Retro-style video games Run and gun games Shooter video games Side-scrolling video games Single-player video games Video games about time travel Video games developed in Canada Video games featuring female protagonists Windows games Xbox 360 games Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Xbox One games