Temporal Gunslinger

Puzzle with clever bullet mechanic, though its demanding precision, occasional inconsistencies, and trial-and-error pacing may test your patience. You take on the role of a revenant, an undead gunslinger cursed (or perhaps blessed) by the Reaper, the enigmatic guardian of souls. The Reaper needs your help to bring down the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, once his loyal agents, now corrupted by power. Each of the Four Horsemen resides in a different time period, and these themed chapters are broken into linear paths of five puzzle rooms. While the progression is strictly forward, there’s a nice amount of world-building packed into it. The narrative is delivered piece by piece between puzzle rooms, with the Reaper offering cryptic but compelling insights about your targets, your past, and the End of Times itself. You can even inspect enemy weapons for extra lore tidbits. The heart of the gameplay lies in two gifts you receive early on: a timepiece and a set of mystical coins. The timepiece allows you to control the flow of time by rewinding mistakes, speeding up actions, and freezing the moment before death. The coins let you redirect bullets mid-flight, which is the game’s main mechanic. Every encounter starts with you firing a single bullet. The challenge is to eliminate all enemies in the room using only that shot, redirecting it as needed by deploying coins at specific moments. Later, you’ll gain access to a second projectile, but that just increases the complexity. Enemies have colored weak spots that must be hit to finish the stage. They move, they react, and a small shift in posture can cause your shot to miss or bounce uselessly off armor. That’s where the timepiece becomes essential. If something goes wrong, and it often will, you can rewind and try again. But rewinding too far erases all your previous redirections, meaning you have to be meticulous about how much you undo. Adding important layer of strategy is the ability to possess enemy projectiles. You can aim at their projectiles, which can be anything, and jump into it, taking control of its trajectory. Jumping into projectiles is free, but you still pay coins for any redirections. This often allows you to choreograph multi-bullet kills by leaping from shot to shot. Navigating these puzzles is made easier with a clever compass-like UI that shows incoming threats as icons on a clock face. When the hand reaches a number, the corresponding projectile hits, unless you intervene. To have a clear view of the whole situation, you can enter free mode and fly around. But not everything clicks perfectly. The precision required to hit moving targets, especially their weak spots, can be very annoying. Even when you figure out a valid solution, executing it across several projectiles demands trial and error. Rewinding too far can undo coins that were already aimed properly, making progress feel like a test of patience. While a single hint per puzzle provides some guidance, you still have to plan everything yourself. Things showing inconsistent behavior is another problem. In second boss fight, you’re supposed to destroy a few objects around the room. However, while chandeliers that fall straight down work, redirecting it into an objects does not. Depending on your skills, this might not be a very long game. However, the ability to replay individual puzzles, hunt for achievements, and experiment with new approaches adds replay value.

I played the game as a QA tester so I have spent more hours than the playtime shown in my steam account. It's a fun 3D puzzle game with a unique bullet time concept. Time manipulation in the bullet cam perspective can be disorienting at first but you can get used to it in a lil' bit of time.

The bullet deflecting and time rewinding mechanics make this a completely original type of puzzle game that got me thinking in ways I haven't had to do in any other game. And the character interactions get surprisingly entertaining as the game goes on.

A quite unique idea of redirecting projectiles of both the player and the enemy done very well. The story in it is a short one but one that accomplishes all it tries to do in the time its given. My only complaint would be that there isn't more of it, and when I'm complaining there isn't more then that's a good sign. It isn't a very long experience but considering the price you get more than enough content. At the very least people should try the demo out.

Playing the game in alpha, and playing the game on full release, the game is still as good as it was then. Great story, interesting mechanics, and questionable morals. Who's right? Who's wrong? That's for your moral compass to decide! Game play is still very smooth on the computer and the frames itself., smooth sailing from here

A unique puzzle game with mechanics I have not seen before. Creative puzzles, great visuals, engaging dialogue, and quality voice acting. Definitely recommended for people looking for a fun and interesting experience that doesn't overstay its welcome.

Cool puzzle game with great writing, art, music and voice acting.

Despite not usually being a fan of games in this genre, Temporal Gunslinger’s unique mechanics and engaging gameplay had me hooked from start to finish. Turning an action shooter into a puzzle game is not something I’ve ever seen before, yet bending bullets and manipulating time to my will felt both intuitive and enjoyable. The puzzles in each level felt varied and challenging, as each era brought its own host of new mechanics, quirky characters and additional abilities. The game felt well-balanced, and although I had to look at the in-game hint system once or twice, it never felt like too great a learning curve. The scale and production quality are impressive for an indie game, and I sincerely hope the developer is proud of what they have accomplished. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone with a few hours spare looking for a fresh experience to challenge their brain!

Great puzzle concept that just gets better as you progress. Really enjoyed the styles and aesthetics of the different time periods. Time well spent ^^ (pun intended)

Pretty short but fun puzzle game