In Stars and Time (Official GOG Installer)

2023 · insertdisc5

In Stars and Time is an Indie RPG that was developed by insertdisc5 and published by Armor Game Studios for PC and Consoles on November 20th, 2023. This is the Official GOG Installer for the game. Description - Wikipedia In Stars and Time is a 2023 role-playing video game developed by insertdisc5 and published by Armor Games Studios . The game takes place in the fictional country of Vaugarde, which is in the process of being frozen in time by a mysterious figure known as the King. The player controls Siffrin, a member of an adventuring party which hopes to defeat the King and save Vaugarde. Siffrin finds themself trapped in a time loop , which the player can manipulate to solve problems. The game features a turn-based combat system which is based on a rock paper scissors formula. It originated as a webcomic series in 2018, and was preceded by the prologue Start Again in 2020. In Stars and Time was released in 2023 for Windows and several consoles. Critics were generally positive towards the game, praising the characters and narrative, though some took issue with the looping gameplay. Following release, it received honorable mentions for the Nuovo Award and Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the 2024 Independent Games Festival . Gameplay In Stars and Time' s battle system allows players to perform combos based on move types (denoted in the bottom right). In Stars and Time is a role-playing game that is viewed from a top-down perspective. Players control the main character Siffrin [ a ] as they attempt to lead the party through the castle and defeat the King. [ 1 ] The party navigates the House of Change and its surrounding village, where the player can initiate combat with enemies or interact with items and characters. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Combat takes place in a first-person perspective; the game uses an active-time battle system. [ 1 ] Different characters have specialised types based on a rock paper scissors system, though they can also use attacks outside their speciality. Enemies also have these types, which are usually indicated via their hand gestures. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] When the party performs five consecutive attacks of a type, a "jackpot" move is performed. These special group attacks can heal party members and deal damage to all enemies. [ 1 ] [ 4 ] Throughout the game, the player can end up repeating the same actions multiple times, as Siffrin is stuck in a time loop. [ 6 ] However, they can also utilise the loops to learn how to solve problems, for example repeating conversations until they choose the correct option or find a certain item. Loops are generally only terminated when Siffrin dies; this can either be during combat, or by finding items that kill Siffrin. [ 1 ] After looping back in time, the player can skip ahead to different floors, at the cost of in-game currency. [ 5 ] If the player encounters dialogue they have already seen, they can fast-forward through it. [ 2 ] Plot The player assumes control of Siffrin, who is leading his party from the town of Dormont to the House of Change. The House has been taken over by the King, who will perpetually freeze the country of Vaugarde in time if they fail to stop him. Siffrin is quickly killed by a trap after entering the House, but finds himself waking up in Dormont the day before, unharmed. After waking up, he is informed by a mysterious, star-shaped figure named Loop that he has been trapped in a time loop. Choosing not to tell his party, Siffrin uses his time loops and Loop's assistance to defeat the King and save Vaugarde. However, he soon discovers that he also gets looped back after defeating the King; Loop assures him that they will help him escape the situation. Siffrin uses the loops to find out more about his situation and discover a way out. Over the course of many loops, he learns that both he and the King come from a country that was erased from everyone's memory. Distraught by losing his memories, the King arrived in Vaugarde and was overjoyed by the compassion he was shown. To protect Vaugarde from meeting the same fate as his country, he chose to freeze it in time to preserve it so that it would remain "perfect". Siffrin discovers that the King has harnessed the rare powers of Wish Craft, which is capable of granting anyone's deepest wish. While making these discoveries, Siffrin grows closer to his party members by working through their personal problems, and he begins to consider them his new family. This worsens his mental stability, as he watches his party forget their experiences with him at the start of each loop, and he eventually views them as repeating lines in a play. He comes to believe that the citizens of Dormont unintentionally trapped him in the loop due to Wish Craft, but fails to get help. Out of leads, impatient, and worn down by experiencing a vast amount of loops, Siffrin snaps and insults his party, before leaving to confront the King by himself. Incredibly strong from fighting in many loops, Siffrin traverses the House alone