PC Gamer’s Joshua Wolens shines the light of a thousand suns on Enter the Chronosphere, the psychedelic turn-based bullet hell roguelike developed by Effort Star and published by Joystick Ventures, now currently available to play on Steam in open beta! Joshua explores the time-centric mechanic at the game’s core and explores the impact of the gameplay’s look and feel:
It looks and feels great, I have to say. If you’ve played Arco, imagine a fast-paced, roguelike version of the combat in that. If you’ve not played Arco, then imagine a turn-based combat system where all turns happen simultaneously. Time only moves when you move. Until you decide on what you’re doing next, bullets hang in the air, enemies stand in place, bombs hang on their timers. But once you’ve decided to move, or shoot, or reload, or any other action, the whole world takes a step forward.
It’s very good fun, and creates a sense of movement and action that’s frenetic and strategic all at the same time as you shift from pondering your next move to setting the whole world into mad, chaotic action.
Enter the Chronosphere‘s manipulation of time manifests strategies, tactics, and equipment loadouts on the fly while accommodating various speeds of play. Rush through a chronosphere’s multi-floored descent to encounter enemies and environments evermore shifted and shaped by distorted time itself, and adapt to each threat today in open beta now available on PC via Steam!
Be sure to check out Joshua’s entire article over at PC Gamer here! For more information on Enter the Chronosphere, follow Effort Star on X/Twitter, Bluesky, and TikTok, and visit Joystick Ventures’ official site.
