Imagine if Diablo let you rewind time to dodge or block the attack that killed you. That seems to be the elevator pitch for Iron Danger. This new tactical RPG being published by Daedalic Entertainment is coming to Steam on March 25, and the trailer above makes it look worth a punt.
Most of the time when playing Iron Danger you'll be running around as usual, swinging blades, casting fireballs, and swigging on health potions. But if you do die you have the chance to rewind time for up to five seconds so you can avoid that fate on the second or even third try.
It's not clear exactly how many chances you get to avoid each deadly situation, but developer Action Squad Studios does state that you can rewind time "whenever you want, trying different strategies and combinations of moves until you find the right one for the task at hand." So, as many you need then, I guess.
A timeline runs across the bottom of the screen as you play, splitting time into five-second chunks. It looks similar to the timeline you use in a video editor which hopefully means it's clear and easy enough to use.
Time rewind isn't the only deviation from the typical RPG formula to be found in Iron Danger. Your party consists of two characters who cannot be swapped, rather than the more usual four or solitary warriors that star in most RPGs. There's also no grinding as "character progression is balanced throughout your journey."
These tweaks have made it difficult for the developer to slot Iron Danger into any one genre, hence the public vote to see what genre players would put it into. The winning result was tactical RPG as it blends turn-based tactics with real-time action, but the developer reckons it's more a blend of adventure, action, RPG, and puzzle game.
Iron Danger's environments are also notable for combining steampunk fantasy with Finnish folklore. When rewinding time to reconsider your move, you should take a look at your character's surroundings for any chance to "set an enemy on fire and kick them into a grain field for a proper barbeque, or set up a trap and fell a tree on top of them." That, yes, I want to do that.
Hopefully this will encourage Blizzard to put time rewinds in Diablo 4. Why not? I can already imagine the satisfaction of seeing blood splashed on the floor being sucked back into the body it spilled from.
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