Super Time Force Ultra, an updated version of the original Super Time Force, is a side-scrolling action shooter developed by Capybara Games. With the original game releasing for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 in May 2014, the updated Super Time Force Ultra was released in September 2015 for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. With a vibrant pixelated art style, wacky time travel shenanigans, and a unique time-bending mechanic baked in, the game has a lot going for it that made it an indie classic upon release. After playing the game, however, its moments of chaotic strategic fun and humorous storytelling efforts are overshadowed by repetitive level design, unbalanced difficulty, and a challenging gameplay loop that holds it back in my opinion.

While I’d usually start a review with an overview of the story, there isn’t much to go on here. It essentially boils down to this - you take control of the members of the Super Time Force, a time-traveling military organization, sent to various points in history by Comander Repeatski to stop a near-endless robot army from destroying the world. Again, it’s not a lot of story, but not every game needs to have an overblown dramatic narrative. Regardless of its brevity, however, the story that does exist is told through fantastic pixel art cinematics and dialogue that genuinely had me laughing at parts. It’s fun, short, and just enough to get the game underway.

Much like the story, the core gameplay is easy enough to understand as a side-scrolling shooter title. With obvious inspirations from the Metal Slug and Contra franchises, the player controls one of sixteen characters as they run and gun their way to the end of the level. With each character having their own unique ability and weapon, it gives the game quite a bit of depth and strategic variance on how any level can be tackled (even if several of these characters aren’t unlocked until well into the game’s runtime). Super Time Force Ultra, however, has one other mechanic it’s known for that makes this more than a simple run-and-gun shooter - the “Time Out” mechanic. This gameplay feature makes good use of the word “Time” in Super Time Force by allowing the player to rewind to a point before their death, pick a new character, and then resume playing alongside a ghost version of their original character. The absurdity of these time shenanigans and the multitude of ghost characters that can exist at one time creates a hilarious dance of past-selves, each blasting away at enemies in a glorious symphony of gunfire. This time bending ability opens up creative strategies, like sacrificing earlier versions to revive fallen comrades or setting up elaborate kill zones in difficult levels, and is undeniably cool. Unfortunately, the mechanic can quickly become confusing and overwhelming, where the game devolves into button mashing as enemy swarms and you constantly attempt to revive yourself and try again. I can’t say I disliked the mechanic overall and thought the idea was great, it just could have been executed better and eventually became far too much for me to handle, especially on the PlayStation’s Vita screen.

With an interesting time travel storyline and the Time Out mechanic, one would assume the level design and missions would follow suit. This is unfortunately not the case. The levels, while visually distinct in their textures and backgrounds, suffer from repetition in their execution usually consisting of a copy and paste of the same layout. Mission objectives rarely deviate from "blast everything" instead of taking advantage of the interesting mechanics that the game introduces. Compound this with a short campaign and less-than-stellar enemy variety, and Super Time Force didn’t leave a very lasting impression. While there are challenge modes to extend playtime, I’m not that dedicated to mastering game mechanics that genuinely give me a headache.

Super Time Force Ultra has potential, but its confusing game mechanics, repetitive levels, and short runtime prevent it from reaching its full potential. If you're looking for a quick burst of chaotic fun with a unique time mechanic, it might be worth giving it a shot. Just don't expect a timeless classic.

Primeira contato com esse jogo foi pelo PS Vita, porém o mesmo me interessou o suficiente para ser completado mais uma vez no PC.

Com um estilo gráfico bem interessante possuindo variedade de personagens e cenários bem detalhados, é um jogo com várias cenas divertidas e trocadilhos com o tempo que rendem algumas risadas de vez em quando.

Um jogo de plataforma que usa como principal trunfo o controle sobre o tempo, permitindo avançar e voltar no mesmo para poder mudar a trajetória dos personagens usados na aventura.

Tem bons efeitos sonoros e algumas músicas bem legais.

Possui um New Game Plus consistindo praticamente em completar novamente as fases porém com a limitação de não poder reutilizar personagens que se perde no caminho.

É um jogo bem feito e divertido.