Time Bandit – Part 1: Appendages of the Machine

Seize the means of production in this Marxist action espionage block-pushing title that mixes elements of MGS, Animal Crossing and the Idler genre. It's wild, it's crazy, it's the best thing I played in 2023. You need to play this game.

It's like Animal Crossing but you're overthrowing immortal Time Vampire capitalists in a dystopian nightmare world with a retro low-poly vibe. You play the game in 20-30 minute stints, fulfilling the tasks you're able to complete with your limited stamina, then you return home and sleep for the next "shift". The writing sometimes comes off as preachy (the radio is literally a talking head simulator) and there's very little foreshadowing for the game's one boss, but it does tell an interesting story with unique gameplay to frame it. It's an enjoyable coffee-break style game.

The game gives you a powerpoint on marxism, also it's a Sokoban so it's like katnip to me

this game rocks

This game is slow demanding and evil and i love every second i get to play managing your time, Think out your moves and seize the power for yourself.....and the common man yes the common man totally all for the people and not for myself......i mean you will be Stalin in this game at one point who knows...i mean stalling yes stalling I don't have evil plans at all if this game gives me any options.

Weird, interesting, janky, worth meeting halfway for a unique little puzzle-over-long-time-frame experience. Was nice to get into the rhythm of planning out moves and coming back to execute them little by little, looking forward to more in the future.

Time Bandit isn't a game you'll play in multi-hour sessions. Rather, the game's structure asks players to check in on it throughout the day as they make slow but steady progress. This gameplay loop might not be for everyone, but I found the routine of setting up forklifts, planting trees and building bridges to be very enjoyable. The game is very unsubtle with its themes, but I think that adds to the experience. It's clearly pulling from series like Metal Gear both in gameplay and presentation, making it feel more charming than didactic. Time Bandit is currently Part 1 of an unknown number of chapters, but I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes and pushing as many boxes as it takes to get there.