Video games through the years have provided us with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:some truly terrifying villains, but the greatest foe of all has always been time. Whether you're racing to get a new personal best or trying to beat the clock as it counts down towards your demise, time is always ticking away. Even in games that don't have an explicit clock or timer, the passage of time can still be a frustrating factor.

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Whether it's because time is a key factor in the game itself, or a game simply demands more of your time than you can reasonably give, that ticking clock is often the real enemy. Read below to find examples of games where time is the real big bad.

10 Wastelan🔜d 3

Wasteland 3 promo art exterior snowstorm three characters both brandishing rifles

Released
♛ Auꦉgust 28, 2020
Developer(s)
ಌ inXile entertainment
Platform(s)
PC

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Wasteland 3 is driven not just by the tactical turn-based combat, but by the choices the game presents as you trek through a frozen post-apocalyptic Colorado. Who to ally with, who to tr𝓰y to save — these are the sorts of choices you can expect to have to make. Unlike with some games, the choices you make in Wasteland 3 will have real consequences on your playthrough.

The tough thing is that you often won't see the full scope of these consequences for hours after you made the initial decision. Loading an old save if you aren't happy with the outcome will cost you sometimes the better part of a days progress in the game. Although this is frustrating it is, ultimately, a good thing. It makes the choices feel meaningful and pushes you towards living with your decisions.

9 Sonic T൩he Hedgehog

Sonic The Hedgehog: Even Hedgehogs Need Air

The source of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:tಞhe most anxiety-inducing music of all time. Nothing causes gamers to break into a cold sweat like the prospect of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sonic the Hedgehog drowning. In a series ostensibly built on the idea of speed, no part of any Sonic game makes you scramble fꩵaster than hear𝓰ing that music kick in.

This race against time, or in this case, the lung capacity of a hedgehog, could easily be considered when survival horror games peaked. That isn't actually true, but as you're moving sluggishly through the water, dreading even the possibility of the music starting to play, you would swear it is.

8 Hades

Hades doesn't have an in game clock taunting you, nor does it punish you later for a decision you made earlier. What it does have is the siren song of the best rogue-like games, honed to perfection in this Greek mythology inspired modern classic.

One. More. Run. Just one more run before bed, before leaving for work, before doing anything remotely constructive. It's easy, and fun, to lose your time to Hades in what seems like small and reasonable amounts. But they'll quickly add up, and before you know it, it's 4am.

7 𒉰 Stardew V🦂alley

Released
ღ 🍌 February 26, 2016
Developer(s)
☂♔ ConcernedApe
Platform(s)
PC, Xbox One, Android, iOS, PS4, Switch

Asking someone just how many hours they've sunk into 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Stardew Valley usually results in one of two things. Either they're so ashamed of the answer that they decide losing you as a friend is easier than revealing the truth, or you realize you both share the obsession and grow closer than ever. There's a reason Stardew Valley is a part of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:so many conversations when it comes to168澳洲幸运5开奖网: the best games.

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An experience as much as it is a game, Stardew Valley is perfect to relax with. It's also perfect for those who like to plan their gaming meticulously. With time passing while you play, days turning into seasons, there are only so many things you can achieve before it's time for your character to go to bed. This means sometime you have to wait for a whole year to pass in the game for another chance at what you missed.

6 Disco Elysium 🎃 ♋

Disco Elysium protagonists against oil background

When it comes to writing, almost no game compares to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Disco Elysium. It isn't the first time a game has put you in the shoes of someone wit꧑h no mem🔯ory but it is arguably the best written. Everything from the characters to the descriptions of items in the game is practically poetry. It's easy to get lost in the narrative and lose sight of the fact that time is passing in the game while you soak everything in.

While you do anything in the game, time is ticking away, and your chance to conclude your murder investigation is fading faster than the memory of your own name. As the days progress, new locations open while others close, and if you didn't speak to a character before you lose access to them? That's another regret you might not even remember.

5 Pikmin

Pikmin 4 Oatchi and a group of Pikmin stand on a lawn

Released
July 21, 2023 🔯 💦
Developer(s)
Nintendo
Platform(s)
Switch

If you don't play the Pikmin games, you probably aren't even aware that they have a time-based mechanic included. How it functions varies slightly from entry to entry, but typically time passes as you play. As time passes so do the in game days, until eventually your pre-determined time limit is up.

Once that happens, the ending you get is determined by how successful you were in completing the game's tasks, usually repairing a ship, in that time. The struggle here is that Pikmin is so colorful and charming that it doesn't feel like a game where time management is a factor. That false sense of safety has locked many a player out of the best ending, but fortunately the games usually include alternate modes, so you can take a little more time to enjoy yourself.

4 ꦬ 🐼 Persona 3, 4 & 5

Joker, Morgana, Ann, And The Rest Of The Main Cast of Persona 5 Royal Posing

The Persona series started to find a real audience from 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Persona 3 onwards. They're excellent RPGs filled with memorable characters and some 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:truly stellar music, but what separates them from other RPGs is the social and life sim elementᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚ﷽ᩚᩚs. With Persona 3, the series introduced an in-game calendar, forcing you to manage your time both socially and as a demon slaying hero.

It's entirely possible to perform the perfect run in a Persona game, a playthrough where you do everything. It's difficult without a guide, though; most players only achieve it on their own in New Game Plus when the carried over stats make life easier.

3 Fallout

A screenshot from the original Fallout, an isometric RPG. We see a pixel characters, with the human shotting a giant green mutant.

Released
November 14, 2018 ꩵ
Developer(s)
Bethesda

Fallout has one of the strongest pedigrees in gaming today, although there is some debate about 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:is Fallout 76 is worth playing or not. Known now for open-world environments and freedom in exploration, the original Fallout games were isometric CRPGs with a very different playstyle. So different in fact that the originalꦏ Fallout had an in-game time limit.

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You have a total of 500 in game days to complete the main quest, with the first leg of the quest having its own timer of 150 days. There are ways to alter this slightly, but if you spend too much time exploring post-apocalyptic Southern California, it's entirely possible to fail thanks to running out of time. Interestingly, Fallout 2 also has a timer, but that one lasts for 13 in game years. Running out of time there is honestly impressive.

2 🐟 💙 Dead Rising

Dead Rising First Game Official Artwork

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dead Rising is known for many things. Killing zombies with comical we🐲apons, fighting deranged survivors and the fact that Frank West has covered wars you know, to name but a few. For most who fired it up unaware of the fact though, the most memorable thing is in the in game coun💯tdown. With each hour in the game taking about five minutes, time really does fly.

It's more than possible to achieve everything in the 72 hours the game allows, but it's not easy. Most players settle for tackling the main objectives and a few extra rescues or psycho fights rather than risk missing out on something key while trying to rush from one end of the mall to the other.

1 XCOM 2

xcom 2 cover title alien

Released
February 5, 20🦄16 🤡
Developer(s)
🐼 Firaxis Gam💮es

The gold standard when it comes to turn based tactical combat, XCOM 2 ups the difficult from the previous entry. Yes, your squad members can still per🉐m🔜anently die. Yes, managing your time and resources is still vital. This time around though the game has a doomsday counter that, if filled, then starts to count back down. If it hits zero, game over man.

This race against the aliens timetable adds an extra wrinkle that many players find stressful but makes the game more immersive and tactical. The doomsday counter can be delayed, even regressed, if you plan your missions carefully. That red Avatar🐲 Project bar often does feel like your enemy more than the alien overlords do though.

Next: Times The Story Completely Changed 🍰Part Way Through The Game