Out of Time finds the middle ground between Vampire Survivors and an MMO

With how popular MMOs like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV are, it’s surprising that more developers haven’t experimented with MMO-style gameplay in other genres.

I’m referencing the kind of gameplay that involves large groups of players working together, mixing auto-attacks and special abilities to take down giant bosses while exploring.

Manticore Games’ Out of Time is willing to test the waters with that, applying MMO gameplay to a roguelike formula.

Better yet, Out of Time plays similarly to a roguelike that’s also built around mechanics like auto-attacking: Vampire Survivors.

Yes, Out of Time is the closest thing I’ve seen to an MMO take on Vampire Survivors, building on the foundation Manticore Games laid with Core to offer an experience that combines tried-and-true game mechanics in a way I haven’t seen before.

It just remains to be seen whether a community of players will find themselves drawn to Out of Time.

What is Out of Time?

The moment-to-moment gameplay of this bulletheaven

In the universe of Out of Time, an event known as The Shattering has caused multiple points in time to merge, creating a new realm called Infinitopia.

Groups of players then have to work together to fight their way through massive hordes of enemies in areas based on different points in time.

The following eras were all confirmed at a preview event attended by Android Police, with the bolded ones being available at release:

• Prehistoric
• Antiquity
• Medieval
• Three Kingdoms
• Modern
• Cyberpunk
• Wasteland
• Solarpunk

Players choose an era in time to explore, equip themselves with gear and weapons to gain unique abilities, and then set out with other players to start their roguelike run.

Players attack automatically, only having to choose their best time to use their more special abilities while defeating bosses or completing specific objectives.

The bulletheaven (the colloquial name for Vampire Survivors’ genre) influence comes in with the massive amount of enemies that players have to take on all at once, and with how players slowly earn experience and improve their abilities with each enemy killed.

A tether system also allows players to share buffs if they stay close to each other, encouraging communication when creating a character build and choosing upgrades.

Out of Time looks pretty ridiculous in action, but also seems like it’ll be a lot of fun to play.

With the number of enemies this game is tossing at players, it looks like it will get very overwhelming on higher difficulties.

Grinding runs to get better gear and play better is all part of the fun of the roguelike gameplay loop, though, and Out of Time taps right into that.

What is Out of Time’s connection to Core?

The social element of this MMO-inspired experience

Developer Manticore Games is best known for Core, a metaverse competitor to Fortnite that popped up in 2021.

It never took off in quite the same way Fortnite did, but it still has a community of players who create content and minigames for it.

Manticore isn’t hiding the fact that Out of Time was built with Core, but that also shouldn’t be an immediate turn-off because this new game stands on its own.

Out of Time is an entirely standalone game from Core. It was built off the foundation Manticore created with Core in Unreal Engine 5.

While showing off the game, Chief Creative Officer Jordan Maynard explained to Android Police that building with Core “allowed us to prototype ideas really rapidly and get things working super quick.”

While technically standalone, Out of Time is emblematic of a new era in game development, where entire titles can be built upon the tools and foundation of another game, a trend that has already resulted in hits like Roblox’s Grow a Garden.

It’s a bit confusing, but know that Out of Time wants to stand on its own as a multiplayer experience.

It is leaning into those social features, too, as players will be able to hang out with each other in the Infinitopia hub, and Manitcore plans to eventually add features like PvP into the game.

Over time, Out of Time has the potential to develop into a multiplayer game all its own.

Out of Time stands out in a crowded roguelike space

Its next goal: resonate with players at launch

While I’m not an avid player of MMOs, I do enjoy Vampire Survivors. By finding the middle ground between those two concepts, Out of Time appeals to me as someone who enjoys roguelikes such as Risk of Rain 2 and Hades.

A live service game like this ultimately lives or dies on its community, though, and it’s tough to predict whether Out of Time will resonate with players upon release, as Manticore Games hopes.

If it does, though, Out of Time could become the next hit multiplayer roguelike.

Out of Time will be released for PC, exclusively through the Epic Games Store, on September 25. It will cost $25, and Manticore Games plans to bring the game to more storefronts and platforms as it continues to update it post-launch.