Thank you for entering the VaultCo Asset Storage Solutions testing portal.
You're an elite hacker turned security expert, recently hired by VaultCo to test out some of their systems. But as you progress, it turns out VaultCo may be greedier than expected...
Time Rift is a 2022 puzzle-shooter game developed by Lightshards and published by Abiding Bridge, where you spend every level trying to navigate a maze full of obstacles while staying a step ahead of the Advancing Wall of Doom and collecting coins. Central to the gameplay is the Time Rewind Mechanic, which lets you go back through your progression in the current level as far as you go... but since some obstacles do not get restored by the rewind, this opens a new tactical layer for the puzzles.
Time Rift provides examples of the following tropes:
- 20 Minutes into the Future: With a Cyberpunk flavor. Of note is VaultCo's artifical intelligence system, designed to replace and outright impersonate employees.
- Advancing Wall of Doom: One you need to stay a step ahead of at all time outside of the story-driven levels. Much of the game revolves around changing the direction the wall is advancing from.
- Anti-Frustration Feature: The rewind system means that after any failure, you can go back in time by exactly as long as you want. Furthermore, collecting coins is perfectly optional - you can challenge yourself with a 100% Completion to catch them all, or shrug off and ignore some hard-to-reach coins as you progress to the next level.
- Artificial Intelligence: VaultCo's Evil Plot revolves around creating AI good enough to impersonate and replace most human workers.
- Corporate Conspiracy: Your employer is trying to replace countless employees with artificial intelligences. And, incidentally, not pay you.
- Time Rewind Mechanic: One you're expected to make full use of. Not just to retry after a failure, but as a necessary tool to solve some of the puzzles.
