10 Best Games Where You Can Hop Between Timelines

Have you ever wanted to simply escape our reality and jump into another – whether it is a parallel dimension or your own past or future?

I am sure that some gaming characters understand that feeling quite well, since there are many games that not only flirt with the concept, but literally dive into the idea of dealing with multiple timelines.

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They make the player switch between past, present, and even distorted realities, following their story or as a free-roaming mechanic, to go full Back to the Future style, using this “special power” in their favor.

That said, I have selected for this article some games in which the timeline can be flexible, branched, or manipulated, all the while being essential to the experience as a whole. So start up the DeLorean and let’s go, Marty.

10 Time Flipper

Changing Era At Any Time

As its own title suggests, Time Flipper is an indie game where you can use a time-flip device to solve puzzles and transverse throughout its world – in a captivating and ambitious way.

You press a single button to toggle between two timelines (past and future) at any time and in real time, which is quite impressive. They are also very different visually from each other, since the first one is a colorful island, while the second is a destroyed version of that landscape.

However, it does have some limitations, such as the lack of a consistent narrative. But the intuitive and fun gameplay makes this short puzzle-platformer worth trying out.

9 Life is Strange: Double Exposure

Partners in Switching Timelines

Here we go again, as CJ used to say, right? Jokes aside, Life is Strange: Double Exposure brings our beloved Max Caulfield back to investigate another murder in a small town, but with a little twist.

She lost her famous ability to rewind time, and now can switch between timelines: her own reality and an alternative one where the murder did not happen.

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That idea pretty much sums up the entire gameplay, and the player can move freely between these realities to collect clues and information to progress through the main story.

It is an interesting experience gameplay-wise, but I personally felt that it could be so much better if the protagonist were a new character – Square Enix, I am begging you, leave Max’s lore alone! –, since some connections to the original Life is Strange are kind of disappointing.

8 Cris Tales

Timelines on the Same Screen

Cris Tales is a little different from the other contenders on this list because it indeed shifts between three timelines, but all at the same time… and with a split-screen view.

That concept in itself is amazing and results in a pretty unique screen for a JRPG, where you see the past, present, and future simultaneously, alongside your actions that impact them.

It is a clever idea that works well with an absolutely top-notch presentation, but it does not prevent the game from failing in other elements, such as unbalanced characters, weird difficulty spikes early on, and a short duration.

7 Singularity

Time Is Your Best Weapon

If you ever wanted an experience that matches the description of “Half-Life meets BioShock”, you should definitely try out Singularity – a surprisingly good, old-school FPS.

Its story follows an elite military officer who travels back to the 1950s through a mysterious energy surge and ends up saving a Russian scientist. When he returns to the present day, he discovers that this same man has become an oppressive world leader, leading to the global domination of the Soviet Union.

What stands out the most is how the idea of interconnected timelines (and the consequences of messing with them) is explored in that context, making the player constantly shift between 1955 and 2010.

Also, there is a fun manipulating time mechanic in the gameplay, which allows you to kill enemies by aging them into skeletons. Yeah, you definitely should not mess with time!

6 Returnal

Where Dying Is Just the Beginning – And the Middle

Many players are still debating about Returnal’s story, since the game does an incredible job at presenting Selene’s life events (and deaths) while constantly shifting (and messing up) timelines and even weird dimensions.

That happens because the protagonist crashes into Atropos, an alien planet with temporal instability that traps her in a dying cycle, forcing her to start again after a failure.

What I really love about it is that it presents a challenging experience with creative enemies and bosses (using a roguelite structure), and at the same time deals with parallel timelines and different realities in a very subtle and elegant way, making the most out of visual cues.

5 Dishonored 2

One Shot, One Timeless Level

Can I cheat a little bit? Sure, Dishonored 2’s main focus is not on shifting timelines, but there is an insanely amazing level where you can toggle between the past and the present at your will, which is mind-blowing and deserves a spotlight.

It is called “Crack in the Slab” and allows the player to use a device to shift between 1852 and 1849 inside Aramis Stilton’s manor to solve puzzles and gather information, using the past to influence the present and vice versa.

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For me, it is one of the best level designs in gaming, since it seamlessly integrates both timelines, and they differ a lot.

In the present, you are in a totally destroyed place with a lot of paths blocked by the invasion of nature, while you find a luxurious manor with multiple guards in the past.

4 Assassin’s Creed

Making History

I guess you saw this one coming. One of the core elements in the Assassin’s Creed series is the possibility of shifting between the present and a historical setting through the Animus, a machine that allows people to relive the genetic memories of their ancestors.

Despite that, it seems that the franchise is moving further and further away from this idea to focus more on the historical open world (which is the most appealing element for the fans).

Still, I have to confess that I miss the modern conflicts outside the Animus, such as fighting directly against Abstergo’s evil plans with Desmond Miles in the first Assassin’s Creed and saving the world! Good old days.

3 The Messenger

8-bit or 16-bit? It Depends

Sometimes I describe The Messenger as a two-games-in-one experience, but I also feel that it may not do real justice to everything this brilliant action platformer has to offer.

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The story initially follows a ninja that needs to deliver a scroll to a mysterious order in scenarios with an 8-bit style – a quite linear and direct idea, right? But when he finally delivers the item, he gains the ability to jump to a future timeline, where everything turns into 16-bit.

After this little twist, the player can shift between the present and the future at his will, and the game turns into a genius Metroidvania with non-linear gameplay. If you have not played it yet, what are you waiting for?

2 Deathloop

Stuck in Timelines

Deathloop is a wacky FPS that forces the player to constantly jump into different and alternative timelines, since its protagonist – an assassin called Colt Vahn – is trapped in a time loop on a mysterious island for 17 years.

So your goal is quite simple on paper: you need to break the loop. However, that is a very complicated and laborious task to do, requiring you to visit multiple timelines to gather information and plan the best strategies to kill the people who are behind all of this.

It is incredibly fun and original, dealing with the consequences and paradoxes of messing with timelines on a whole different level.

1 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

A Timeless Classic

When I was a kid, watching Link change his timeline to find a completely different Hyrule was one of the most impressive gaming experiences for me – and it still is to this day.

In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, we need to face a bunch of challenges as a very young version of Link at first, but then move forward in time (until he is an adult) to finally beat Ganondorf and his evil plans.

This jump is extremely significant for the story and also the gameplay, as there are people, equipment, and places that are unique to each timeline – and you can switch between them at any time to progress through the story, collect information, and complete side quests.

It is a timeless experience – even in the most literal sense of this phrase – that every player should give it a chance.

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