Time Bandit: Part 1 - Appendages of the Machine

Buzz

"Time Bandit reimagines Metal Gear Solid as a darkly comic work sim" - PC Gamer "Dark Animal Crossing bathed in retro Metal Gear aesthetic" - IGN "Sure to make Hideo Kojima proud" - IGN SEA “The really special type of indie game uniquely capable of framing everyday experiences so that their inner oddness and strange magic shines” - Rock Paper Shotgun "The 25 Best Video Games of 2023" - Slant Magazine "Here are eleven 2022 indie games to look forward to" - Destructoid (sorry it was late!) "I foresee that this will gain much love in the indie community" - Vulgar Knight

About the Game

Welcome to the world of Time Bandit, a unique real-time adventure game where things move at a slower pace. You have a new job that involves moving boxes and starting other tasks that take time--sometimes what seems suspiciously like TOO much time.

You can multitask and go work on other puzzles while you wait, or just save the game and come back later. Time continues to pass while you're not playing.

Please note: This is just the first part of the story. The time it takes to complete depends on how often you check back in on the game.

The company hired you to carefully manage your money and fuel while solving puzzles slowly over time to collect the time crystals for them. But soon you start to suspect there might be a dark secret behind the company's activities.

The choice is yours: Do you continue to give the time crystals that you find to the company for a small bonus? Or, after spending all that time collecting them, do you try to sneak the time crystals out of your workplace to sell them for more money? The stakes are high: every crystal they catch you trying to steal is lost permanently.

• The company's security guards and cameras are watching. But perhaps it's easier to get away with sneaking around at certain times of day...
• Work shifts tied to the actual time of day that change the consequences of getting caught. If you're on shift, it's OK to be seen by guards, unless you're trying to steal a time crystal. If you're off shift, you definitely want to avoid being seen.
• Keep an eye on your energy meter. It goes down slowly while you play, and certain actions will deplete it more quickly. Swallow an energy pill or get some good sleep back home at your apartment to fill it back up.
• A story that unfolds slowly in real time over the course of days and weeks of playtime.
• A real-time day-and-night cycle, location-based weather, and music that changes dynamically with the time of day.

You slowly learn that the company's extraordinarily wealthy CEO and shareholders plan to use the time crystals to ẗ̵̤̪̻͙̭́͌͘͠ą̸͇͇̱̙͕͙̮͌͒̀̆̌͐̉k̷͔̗͚̰̣̠̜̀͛̓̎͛̇͜͝͠è̶̹̞̳̱͌̚ ̷̙͕̲͕͐̇̓c̶͖̭̳̘͉̿̋͘̚ő̸̲͙̫̀̆̈͛n̶͎̓̇ţ̴̦̯̙̻̙͕̮̇̿͌̇ŗ̷̦͗̇ȍ̶̝̘̲̤͎͉̦̈́̆͒̅l̴̦̹̍̅̑ ̴̦̫̣̘͚̼͑̑̈̄̑̋̏o̴̰͇̺̹̥͔̽̎͝f̵̗̳̟͕̜͍̖̤͝ ████ in order to m̴͉̬̠̅̐̔̆̃͝á̷̧̭̣̳̥͐̆͊͋̆͗̕k̴̹͍̫̹̮̝̃̆͋̄è̷̼͕̯̻̍ ̶̤̦̮̐̌̆̅͘ỹ̶͇̥͈̄̋̿͗͜͝o̸̖̫͍̅͑̋͝ͅṷ̸͂̃ ̸̳̳̠̯͆███ ̴̛͔͐̈́̕̚͝f̴̨͉̬̯́͂̒̀̏͒͘ổ̶̥̖͑̄r̷̡̖̖̖͓̤͒́̉̄͐̆̽̓ ̵̞̼̾̿͜ͅt̵̢͕̠̫̹̯͕̰̐́̀h̷͍̺̹͈̺̭̞̺̏̆̑ę̷̪̞͐͘m̸͍͕̊̑̆̆́̕͘ ̴̲͓͓̩̼͙̫̈̑͋́̔̎██████.

Uncover a dark but absurd conspiracy in lowpoly cutscenes and radio conversations inspired by retro cinematic games.

Find out how your time is being stolen from you--and how you can fight to take it back.

Time Bandit was designed for you to decide how you like to spend your time: make progress quickly or slowly, make playing it a habit or meaningful ritual, or just load up the game to watch the real-time sunsets.