PAX East is back and this year we went hands on with Enter the Chronosphere. Enter the Chronosphere is a bullet hell rogue-like with a time stopping element. Think of Enter the Gungeon meets Superhot. It is a fast-paced rogue-like-bullet-hell yet at the same time nothing moves until you do. 

There is something about a game that sounds like two genres being pulled out of a hat at random to create something unique. With that said, Enter the Chronosphere did start as a fun game jam. At its core, it is very much like Enter the Gungeon. A bullet-hell-rouge-like with the twist of time stopping with you. The end result is a unique take on the rouge-like genre that is beginning to get stale.

What is Enter the Chronosphere?

Starting out of the gate, Enter the Chronosphere will have you select one of a handful of playable characters. With my demo, I was able to play as a bear and a female human. The playable characters did not seem to have any differentiators from what I could experience. Although they each have their own unique look and feel. Besides, the game is procedurally generated, every playthrough felt different even with the same characters. 

The levels are procedurally generated simple top-down mazes with walls for cover. There is something about the level design that works together with the art style to deliver a cohesive experience. Typically, I would find the walls to be an annoyance. Likewise, with the top-down view, a maze level design serves no purpose because you can see the entire maze from the camera view. With that said, everything comes together. While you can see the entire maze, moving quickly to avoid damage is still the core mechanic here. As you navigate through each map it begins to feel natural and, having a top-down view is complementary to the bullet hell elements. 

In conjunction with the level design, how the weapons are generated gives each playthrough that unique feeling. Essentially you start out with nothing as the pistol you begin with feels insignificant. Although usually around the third or fourth corner you are presented with your first weapon. One time I picked up a shotgun, another time I had a kunai, then a sniper rifle. With each weapon the whole game felt different. The weapons forced me to take a different approach with each enemy encounter. You often do not think about it but, attack distance in a bullet hell game is a game changing element. How much space you give yourself to doge and move through waves of attacks is a core mechanic. As weapons have different striking distances, the approach you take will change how you play. I really like how the combat comes together. 

Overall Thoughts

While we have all gotten tired of rouge-likes, Enter the Chronosphere is a fresh take that I can see being a ton of fun on the go. If the developer can add a small narrative element to the game, I could imagine the final product could be one of the better indie games released on a year-to-year basis. If I were looking for something to play in short stints on a Rog Ally or a Steam Deck, I would put this near the top of the list. 

Enter the Chronosphere is being developed by a small indie team by the name of Effort Star. The game will be the Australian team’s first major release according to their Steam Page. The same cannot be said for Publisher Joystick Ventures who had a collection of games at PAX East including Big Boy Boxing and Toy Tactics. 

Currently Enter the Chronosphere does not have a release window. The team hopes to launch the game on PC sometime before the end of 2025. Following a PC release Effort Star hopes to port the games to consoles sometime shortly after.

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