There was a time when action games were a dime a dozen. Where titles would dazzle players with high-octane thrills and spills. It was a time when female protagonists could strut their stuff and do anything like Mai Shiranui from King of Fighters and Rubi Malone from WET. The team at Super Jump games are doing action differently, and taking the best of the past to bring into the future.
Superjump Games, a team consisting of industry veterans, are set to bring back hard-hitting action games back into the fold with The Chronos Event. This fast and frantic shooter features time-travel mechanics and a femme-fatale all set to blaze a new trail for action games.
The Chronos Event
The Chronos Event focuses on several elements. The first is the basics. The Chronos Event is a third-person shooter. Players gain access to various firearms and maneuver around various enemies. The character dons a futuristic suit and her feet turn into thrusters. The character, whose name is still under wraps, can use her thrusters to race around the arena and dodge enemy fire. The biggest draw to the Chronos Event is the time manipulation mechanics.
The character can make several copies of herself through time. If the player feels outnumbered, they may shatter time, rewind to the starting point, and try another path in shooting. Their previous path is copied and can act as both a distraction and another source of firepower. Players can create multiple paths to flank and overwhelm enemies, especially tougher ones.
Bullet Time
My time with the demo was quick but immeasurably rewarding. For starters, it felt good seeing a woman dish out punishment in a shooter for once. Nothing against Bayonetta but I grew up with PNW03 on Gamecube, so I have a soft spot for that one. Traditional shooting felt punchy and impactful, but it was using the special time mechanism where things got more interesting. I had an absolute blast using this mechanic!
During my demo, I was making circles around my battle-hardened enemies. Breaking time and using it to flank enemy gunners was thrilling and neat. The demo already had different firearms and it was interesting to experiment with each one. One of the tougher enemies needed multiple time paths to conquer. It felt great being able to use quantum mechanics in downing the mechanical foes.
A Matter of time
The team at Superjump consists of various video game industry veterans. They are hoping to take the game into Early Access with release on consoles and PCS in the future. The team worked on various AAA titles and they hope that players resonate with the games's action offerings. Based on my time with the demo, this is shaping up to be an incredibly strong offering in the works. I do hope more people gravitate towards The Chronos Event.
The Chronos Event enters early access in November 2024.
The article what is user interviews helped me better understand how to conduct effective user interviews to gather valuable insights and improve the product. Using these methods, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of customer needs, optimize the interface, and improve user satisfaction. This approach proved to be key in developing new features and improving existing ones.