Time Bandit: Part 1 - Appendages of the Machine

Time Bandit: Part 1 - Appendages of the Machine

Joel Jordon · 2023

A real-time workday becomes the game’s central mechanic

93WhatsNext

The WhatsNext verdict

For Players who appreciate unconventional indie experiments, anti-capitalist satire, and slow-burn life sims structured around real-time waiting.: Its audacious commitment to real-world time turns mundane wage labor and stealth heists into a singular, darkly humorous narrative experience. Tradeoff: Real-world timers and deliberate pacing demand patience, making the slow progression feel like a chore for those wanting instant gratification.

What it does best

  • A real-time workday becomes the game’s central mechanic

  • A game that makes waiting and absence part of its storytelling

  • Bleak corporate surrealism with a darkly comic edge

What might put you off

  • Real-world waiting and deliberate tedium

  • A deliberately incomplete first chapter

The setup

What you are walking into

A darkly comic life sim that unfolds slowly in real time. Manage your money, fuel, and energy while slowly solving puzzles to collect the time crystals and then pull off high-stakes stealthy heists. Steal back time from your employer in this anti-capitalist melodrama, told through lowpoly cutscenes and radio conversations inspired by classic cinematic games.

Where it lives

PC (Microsoft Windows)Mac

Genre

PuzzleReal Time Strategy (RTS)SimulatorAdventureIndie

Vibe

StealthComedyDramaNon-fiction
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