Highlights
- Time loops in video games, like in Deathloop, create unique, engaging gameplay experiences where players repeat the same events to discover different possibilities.
- There are many games that have explored time loop mechanics, ranging from genres like JRPGs, roguelikes, visual novels, and more.
- Popular examples include Bravely Default, Undertale, and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, each offering its own twist on the time loop concept.
Much like films and literature, video games have tackled the subject of a "Groundhog Day" style time loop. Deathloop is one such recent example. The game takes place in a time loop and has elements from famous games such as Dishonored and Prey.
However, this upcoming game is far from the first to explore gameplay with time loop phenomena. There are plenty of games out there that have thoroughly investigated how to tell a fascinating story and make a compelling game where time keeps resetting. They range in genre, from horror to adventure-comedy, and vastly differentiate in mechanics. Some are famous, while others are a little more obscure.
Updated on September 12, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: Time loops are an interesting way to keep players engaged in a unique story, with the Groundhog Day style of repeating the same day over and over again while taking different actions to see what the possibilities can be. It can be a pretty challenging thing to pull off, but there have been many games that experimented with this form of a time loop to create an engaging gameplay loop. This list has been updated to include a few more of the best time loop games.
1 Bravely Default
- Release Date: February 7, 2014
- Developer(s): Silicon Studio
- Platform(s): Nintendo 3DS
A simple yet enjoyable JRPG that fans can sink a lot of hours into, Bravely Default is a must-play title for fans of the genre that harkens back to the good old days of the genre while polishing most of its gameplay systems to a T.
The second half of this game focuses on a time loop where minor details for quests and the like change with each loop. While some people found this to be a bit too tedious for their own liking, there's no denying that taking such a risk with the game's narrative was a bold move that paid off for many.
2 Loop Hero
- Release Date: March 4, 2021
- Developer(s): Four Quarters
- Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Roguelikes and time loops are a match made in heaven, and Loop Hero is one of the best candidates in this regard that fans of unique games should definitely check out. In this game, a lich has wiped out the entire world and trapped it in a time loop, forcing the player to use engaging deck-building mechanics to pretty up the landscapes while fighting enemies along the way.
The art style is retro in all the best ways, and players will be pleasantly surprised by how incredible the soundtrack really is! Players who love a successful mishmash of genres will love what Loop Hero brings to the table.
3 The Zero Escape Series
- Release Date: March 24, 2017
- Developer(s): Spike Chunsoft
- Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One (The Nonary Games)
The Zero Escape series is a trilogy of games that puts nine characters in incredibly stressful escape-room, death-game situations. Death is common but not permanent because the character's consciousness time loops back to the beginning each time they die.
In terms of genre, the games are science fiction and horror. The gameplay is in choice and puzzles. Typical of a time-loop narrative, the story is far from linear and branches out based on different choices. The character learns from those choices and eventually can get the true ending. The games are also decently long for the horror genre.
4 Raging Loop
- Release Date: October 18, 2019
- Developer(s): Kemco
- Platform(s): Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
Raging Loop is a visual novel, a game that is mostly read but tasks the player with choices to make. The story is about a man who ends up in a run-down village that is forced into a horrific ritual called the Feast of Yomi. The ritual is basically the party game, Werewolf, and the villagers try to hang a wolf among them every day while the wolves kill a villager at night.
The protagonist is trapped in a time loop of this ritual and has to find out why and how to break out of the loop.
5 Elsinore
- Release Date: July 22, 2019
- Developer(s): Golden Glitch
- Platform(s): PC
Elsinore is Shakespeare's Hamlet within a time loop story. The player takes the role of Ophelia, who has a vision of everyone in the castle dying. She relives the same four days over and over and uses this loop to find out how to prevent the tragedy of Hamlet from occurring.
The indie game was released on Steam in 2019 and is a point-and-click adventure. The player has to use what they learn from each loop to try to change fate.
6 Returnal
- Release Date: April 30, 2021
- Developer(s): Housemarque
- Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5
Returnal holds similarities with Deathloop in being a new game in the world of time-loop narratives. The story focuses on the protagonist, Selene, crash landing on an alien planet. Every time she dies on the planet, she loops back to the crash. Once she dies and is set on a new time loop, she loses most of her items but permanently gets to keep other things like keys, ether, and gadgets.
Returnal falls into the third-person shooter genre. Being one of the more recent time-loop games, it garnered many fans and high-quality reviews from various publications such as Game Informer and GameSpot.
7 The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask
- Release Date: October 26, 2000
- Developer(s): Nintendo EAD
- Platform(s): Nintendo 64
Majora's Mask is among one of the most famous games to use a time-loop narrative. Link has a time limit of three days before the loop resets. Part of what makes this time-loop story unique is that it plays out in real-time.
Three days of in-game time are about 54 minutes of real-time for the player. This mechanic does add a certain amount of stress on the player, as that means they sometimes need to rush to get certain quests done.
8 Minit
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
- Release Date: April 3, 2018
- Developer(s): JW, Kitty, Jukio, & Dom
- Platform(s): Mobile, PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Released on Steam in 2018, Minit is a time loop game with one of the shortest loops of all, each loop only being 60 seconds long. The adventure indie game is charming and short enough to beat in one sitting. The plot is about the protagonist finding a sword that turns out to be cursed. The curse makes it so they die and respawn in a loop of a single minute.
In terms of style, the game is pretty retro and light-hearted. In terms of reviews on Steam, they are very positive.
9 GrimGrimoire
- Release Date: June 26, 2007
- Developer(s): Vanillaware
- Platform(s): PlayStation 2
GrimGrimoire is on the older side, having been released back in 2007 for the PS2. The game is a real-time strategy sidescroller. The plot is basically Harry Potter meets time-loop shenanigans. Players take the role of a trainee witch, Lillet, who is in a time-loop of five days. On the fifth day, teachers and students of her magic school are killed by an evil wizard seeking a philosopher's stone.
Throughout the loops, Lillet learns all she can about the secrets of the magic academy, her teachers, and her classmates so that she can find a way to stop the fifth-day tragedy.
10 Randal's Monday
- Release Date: November 12, 2014
- Developer(s): Nexus Game Studios
- Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4
Randal's Monday is a dark-comedy point-and-click game about a man trapped in a loop of a single day. The protagonist is cursed by committing selfish actions and must set himself right to undo the curse that put him in the loop.
The game is littered with pop culture references, and fans love it for its adult humor. However, it also contains cons, such as difficult puzzles that require walkthroughs and possessing no auto-save feature.
11 Dinner With An Owl
- Release Date: May 18, 2021
- Developer(s): BoringSuburbanDad
- Platform(s): PC
Released in May of 2021, Dinner with an Owl is a short free-to-play game on Steam. It is a must-play for fans of escape rooms and gothic styles. In terms of the gameplay, it is a point-and-click adventure with the goal of escaping a mansion.
Reviews have recommended the game due to its interesting art style, unsettling storyline, and eerie music. Of course, like Deathloop, the story loops as well.
12 Undertale
- Release Date: September 15, 2015
- Developer(s): Toby Fox
- Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One
Undertale is a famous game, and its time-loop aspects are often in the background of its comedy, characters, and story. This is because the time loop depends solely on the player and how many times they will restart the game. Undertale views the common game restart through a meta lens. Some characters will remember the player's previous actions.
If players beat the game on a Genocide run, even the perfect ending changes slightly because the story never forgets. To save and load the game is part of the protagonists' special ability, making it a time-loop game.
13 The Sexy Brutale
- Release Date: April 11, 2017
- Developer(s): Cavalier Game Studios & Tequila Works
- Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
The Sexy Brutale is an adventure point-and-click indie game that takes place within a 12-hour time-loop of a masked ball where guests are murdered by the staff. The game is considered easy but incredibly fun. The party is at a casino mansion with 10 interesting guests.
As the player time-loops over and over, players are tasked with sabotaging the attempted murders done by the staff to save the guests. The game is loved for its story, and the main complaints by fans include the game being short and being too easy.
14 The Forgotten City
- Release Date: July 28, 2021
- Developer(s): Modern Storyteller
- Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Like Deathloop, The Forgotten City is another time loop game that came out in 2021 with overwhelmingly positive results. It is an adventure indie RPG set in Rome. Players get to make their own character and explore the open world of an ancient Roman city while trying to solve the mystery of a time loop.
Reviews have praised the game for its story, charming characters, twists, and thoughtful discussions of philosophy and post-colonialism. Many have recommended just playing the game without reading much about it to avoid spoilers.
15 Outer Wilds
- Release Date: May 30, 2019
- Developer(s): Mobius Digital
- Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Outer Wilds is about a solar system trapped in a time loop. In terms of genre, it is an action-adventure open-world mystery game. Players take the role of a new recruit to a new space program and learn the mysteries of the solar system and whether the time loop can be stopped.
Many fans seal their lips about this game, as it is best played with no spoilers. After all, the title is all about collecting information.
16 Steins;Gate
- Release Date: March 31, 2014
- Developer(s): 5pb. & Nitroplus
- Platform(s): Mobile, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360
The visual novel Steins;Gate has won many awards and spawned both anime and manga adaptations. Time travel is at the center of the story, and understanding how it works is central to the narrative. The complex story has spawned many fan theories, and many of them have to do with time loops.
While the game came out back in 2009, it has gotten a ton of related media over the past 11 years, from novels to board games and drama CDs.
17 12 Minutes
- Release Date: August 19, 2021
- Developer(s): Luis Antonio
- Platform(s): Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
12 Minutes is another time-loop game that was released in 2021. The game tasks players with watching the lives of the inhabitants of a small apartment to solve a mystery from a top-down perspective. It is up to the player to solve the mystery and to keep trying each loop to get the best result.
Along with Returnal and Deathloop, 12 Minutes makes three time-loop games released in one year. Taking place in a small apartment, 12 Minutes certainly does explore the time loop mechanic in an engaging way, but frustrating puzzle design and confusing voice direction prevent this game from reaching the heights that most people expected it to, especially with a star-studded cast voicing their lines for this game.