Lemnis Gate is a forthcoming sci-fi shooter where duels between two to four players unfold in a time loop. Each player takes alternating, twenty-five second turns controlling an operative similar to Overwatch's heroes or Apex Legends' legends, trying to secure objectives while obstructing or retconning their opponents' actions.
Recently titles that allow players to meddle with time, or feature other forms of iterative repetition, like roguelikes, have seen a surge in popularity, and Lemnis Gate is facing some stuff competition. James Anderson, Director of Ratloop Games Canada, had an exclusive chat with Game Rant to discuss what sets this title apart from the crowd. The following Transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Game Rant: How would you describe Lemnis Gate to those who are completely new to the game?
James Anderson: Turn-based combat strategy shooter. Our goal is to bring forth a shooting game where strategy is as important as skill.
GR: Given the temporal hook of the game, I imagine the team has encountered some very weird bugs. Do you have any fun stories?
JA: One of the more funny ones, the previous characters didn’t destroy themselves. A couple players had hundreds of characters spawning. You can imagine the chaos on that. Other times, the character copies would get swapped, and one character would execute the actions of another character.
GR: Did tuning the time loop mechanic affect weapon balance or map design in any unusual ways?
JA: Time is one of the more valuable currencies in the game. In terms of something like a turret, you can balance it’s base damage, rate of fire, all those things, but you can also adjust the deployment time. You only have 25 seconds per round, so a deployment time of 5 seconds, for instance, is a big commitment.
GR: Time-bending aside, what design components or mechanics do you think are crucial when crafting a strong shooter?
JA: I’m a game programmer by trade, so I believe controls are probably the most important thing. You want to play the game, not the controller. Having things perform the way you expect them to perform. As an example, one of our goals was to have the operatives’ abilities and weapons feel smooth, so it’s just fun to move around the map. If you add a gameplay layer on top of that, it only heightens the experience.
GR: The time-altering mechanic can be fairly disorienting when you first encounter it. What is the best way to learn the ropes? Are any operatives more beginner-friendly than others?
JA: The most important thing is to get in there and start experimenting. Kapitan has the most standard loadout; assault rifle and frag grenade ability. But you really have to learn to play all the characters. There is a huge discovery curve. Even if you are still learning the ropes though, you have the opportunity to turn things around, or at least damage your opponent’s plans.
GR: Any other favorite time bending strategies to share with players?
JA: This is very difficult to pull off, but Deathblow has the rocket launcher weapon which is quite powerful. But Carl, our robot character who has an impressive jumping ability also has a shield. So if you can spawn your shield directly in front of an enemy Deathblow right before they shoot, you can make them blow themselves up. It’s very satisfying.
GR: What visual influences did the team draw from when designing the look and feel of the world?
JA: Lots of science fiction. The context of the lore drove the design direction. Teams are exploring new worlds, but bringing temporary technology. Think arctic expeditions. Everything is explorer-driven. And this gear has actually been used before. It is worn and dirty.
GR: Can you tell us about Lemnis Gate’s universe and narrative?
JA: Humanity is facing an infertility crisis and trying to build a quantum highway, which is essentially an interplanetary particle accelerator. If activated, it will reset the history of the region within the accelerator back by 50 years, to give Earth a second chance to do things right. So these teams of operatives are out to secure the necessary resources for the highway, while fending off other teams from different realities.
GR: The word ‘Lemnis’ is drawn from a Latin mathematical term, right? Can you tell us a little bit more about the title?
JA: Yes, the title is a play on the Latin word “Lemniscate,” which is a term for a looping mathematical figure.
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Lemnis Gate is currently in development for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.