How In Stars and Time Perfects the Video Game Time Loop | Bytesized

Rachel Watts explores In Stars and Time and how it perfects the video game time loop. store.steampow...
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[@seisosimp]

I was going insane by Loop 23 (in the middle of Act 3). I unconsciously was doing what Siffrin wanted to do, trying to help everyone while figuring out the mystery of why I'm stuck in the loop, that I found myself slowly getting desperate that the skip button... wasn't FAST enough. I was running for the nearest tear, looping back and forth, and was horrified that I felt dread at talking to the same party members I enjoyed doing shenanigans with at Act 1. It's messed up. This game gets into your head. It really does.

[@matapavosgamer]

I love it, the whole game is purposely tedious in order to force even the most stubborn players (me) to skip as much as possible, at first I was all like "I'm never going to zone out!!" 20 loops later I was zoning out most of the time and when I realized that I zoned out through a dialogue change I would sigh because that meant looping back just to read what they said differently

[@Ziel23987]

This game is excellent in making you go as insane as Siffrin does. And this shit is deliberate, like the fast-forward mechanic. It sounds so bad on paper, because it makes you potentially miss so much cute dialogue. Why would you want to use that? The characters are so nice, I want to hear them talk! Over. And over. AND OVER! And just like Siffrin, you start fast-forwarding just to stay sane.

[@PainCausingSamurai]

The channel "Jello Plays Games" has a playthrough of the game where a group of professional voice actors got together to perform all the character dialogue, and the game's developer joined in the live chat to provide hints, jokes, and commentary. Absolutely worth the watch.

[@Cakespresso]

Jelloapocalypse is in it so uhhh...no i will not be watching

[@funnylittlecreature]

@@CakespressoWhat? Just because he has annoying opinions on TV shows?

[@Ruminations09]

"One of the developers" constitutes exactly 100% of the developers. inserdisc5 is the sole creator of the game.

[@matapavosgamer]

@@Ruminations09 Wrong, there's 2 developers, there's an auxiliary developer and they're mentioned on the credits

[@Ruminations09]

@@matapavosgamer No, that is untrue. The credits say "Written, Directed, and Developed by Adrienne Bazir insertdisc5" Adrienne Bazir is the real name of insertdisc5 - inserdisc5 is just the handle she uses online. They aren't two different people, they are both the same person.

[@justcallmejay12]

I saw a smaller streamer start this game and got impatient/bought it myself because I found I was getting invested in the side dialogue/lore bits that they were skipping, which is something that rarely happens to me frankly. I binge-played through the entire game over a week I had off of work and finished it at 2 in the morning ugly crying at the ending. It's easily become one of my favorite stories in games and I highly, highly recommend giving it a shot if you have any interest in it, it's usually on sale!

[@sabreman8546]

Played this game before this Bytesized came out, and it's easily one of the best, most meta indie games I've ever played. The characters are layered and full of depth (especially the main character Siffrin) and I absolutely love how the narrative gets heavier and heavier over time to reflect not only the player's frustration, but Siffrin's as well. You get to watch as desperation starts to take hold, with the decisions Siffrin makes becoming increasingly irrational, to the point where they start doing things they would NEVER do for the sake of "saving time", because they just want it to be OVER already. Couldn't recommend it enough. And for anyone who decides to play this game after reading this comment, I wish you good luck. You're feelings will need it. And remember: "Follow the script"

[@PoyoPowerPlant]

...and then abandon the script once you get tired of it (Act [spoiler])

[@gabrote42]

Honestly feel tempted to make a shitty animatic (I can barely draw) about the game in the tune of "El Viejo Varieté". Just to see what it's like.

[@tartarsauce1495]

@@gabrote42 Do it!

[@gabrote42]

@@tartarsauce1495 Maybe over the summer. I am real short on time and have no drawing implements beyond mouse or pen & paper. But thanks for the encouragement

[@tartarsauce1495]

@@gabrote42 Drawing implement doesn't matter much as long as it's comfortable for you! I do all my art with a trackpad and it comes out just fine, and I've seen plenty of animatics that were drawn on paper then photographed or scanned. So, good luck and have fun, if you do decide to do it eventually! :]

[@axios4702]

I like this new series, has a very comfy feeling to it and highlights hidden gems that Yatzhee would probably never cover since he mostly works with high profile releases. It's awesome that Second Wind is so much more than just Fully Ramblomatic, everyone here is very talented.

[@jombilywobbily]

Indeed, all these videos ooze with talent and production value. On the subject of Bytesized, Marty did tease in his personal stream (and the recent DMC2 stream) that not all of them were going to highlight good games, just that it so happens this year was packed with very good games. Fingers crossed for a Bytesized on "The Day Before" that runs Chunksized at 53 mins by a still very salty Nick.

[@justarandompersoniguess]

This video perked my interest on the game a LOT, and even though I hesitated buying it (I’ve only SEEN some videos of games which have that turn based RPG/earthbound-esque design roots, if that’s the right way to put it) somehow the game looped me in way more than I’d ever expected. I am GLAD I’m doing a blind playthrough of this because as someone relatively new to this type of game, somehow this game has been one of the most satisfying but heart wrenching experiences to go through (and I’m only like 2/3rds of the way through so far). I doubt many will have quite the same experience as I have being able to put the pieces together and manage to immerse myself the way I have, but at the end of the day, Without this video coming out around when it did, I might have never played through it, so thank you Second Wind for this video. In the very rare chance someone reads this comment (and on top of that hasn’t played the game), PLAY THIS BLIND. Thankfully this video does a great job of avoiding actual spoilers that weren’t obviously the premise.

[@Dan-zc3ou]

"I was a Teenage Exocolonist" is probably one of the best Visual Novel games i have ever seen that incorporate a Time-Loop mechanic and is Just an Amazing game in general!

[@ivorywizard]

i've been thinking of playing that one!

[@Dan-zc3ou]

@@ivorywizard You should! it's amazing and incredible, the first run is magical! i'd recomend to play it as blind as possible. you'll fall in love with the game. Side note but the music soundtracks are absolute hits

[@anabenskywalker122]

I just finished this game last night. Absolutely amazing

[@diegobrandomtg]

Glad to see this game get highlighted! I stumbled on its prologue ages ago and really loved it, excited to finally play the full story!

[@phanron8382]

Before the game came out I was worried that the repetetive nature of the game would hinder my enjoyment. I feared that the combat would get boring. And it did. It took a while for me to realize that that was the point. So when Siffrin expressed their frustration that fights take to long and wished for enemies to just disappear I felt that. There is a lot of this ludonarrative in ISAT and I love it.

[@wpbn5613]

@@dommanu1879 the combat itself gets kind of boring but i'd say the gameplay itself isn't boring at all, because the way you play actually changes as the loops pass by. in the earlier loops you're figuring out how to navigate the house and what the best strategy to fight each enemy is, but in later loops you suddenly have a lot of different goals and ways to move forward, plus the writing is good enough to keep you captivated the way through. so combat wise it does get boring but as a whole i'd say it doesn't wear itself out actually but, that is subjective and my experience may not be everyone's

[@AcenMasterX]

"I got it!"

[@starlesscitiess]

@@AcenMasterX ouch.

[@madmanwithaplan1826]

It is very tricky to pull off. However, the game does it very well. I will not spoil anything for you as I highly recommend that you go play The Game for yourself but by the time you are sick of fighting things so is siffrin. And well, he does something about it, that I won't spoil it..

[@aWERFRGT6545BGFG]

if it helps u can skip a lot of the battles with the random monsters by pressing escape key or 0 and running away. I didnt realize this till i accidentaly tapped on 0 on my key board . never smiled sm before

[@arcaneScribbler]

I _just_ finished the game, been waiting to watch this until I was done, and it took me about twice the time it took you to play, I think! V interesting range. Happy to hear someone talk about it, I love it and want to recommend it to everyone ever! Love the way you storytell about it!

[@aWERFRGT6545BGFG]

Repetitive and routine based enough that it satisfies my autism. Has enough changes and is fast paced enough that it satisfies my adhd.

[@bross92]

I know this series so far isn’t getting as many views, but I am LOVING every single recommendation you guys are making

[@SecondWindGroup]

Views aren't our metric of success here, and 50,000 is great for this series. Our metric of success if paying subscribers, views are secondary as long as people are enjoying what we're making!

[@justarandompersoniguess]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@SecondWindGroup yknow I wasn’t actually expecting to see replies from the team on this after a few weeks but that’s really nice to hear! (this isn’t my comment obviously but still) I can definitely say I got some great value out of this because otherwise I’d never have heard of and went out of my way to play it myself! (It was unforgettable and I find myself agreeing a lot with the stuff shared here)

[@Idanuboy]

the title gave me a headache until i realized the name of the game is 'In Stars and Time' 😵‍💫

[@grzegorzbrzeczyszczykiewic563]

same

[@DarkArtPlaysMinecraft]

It really could use the quotes around the title haha

[@eNDiKay]

Wonder why no gaming channels use ' or " to highlight what is a title...

[@daiyadoggo]

​​@@eNDiKay Usually game titles are very distinct. Especially when the title is recognizable or the context makes the title obvious. Imagine using quotes and sounding like a game company when we say "Minecraft" or "Undertale".

[@lulairenoroub3869]

Lowercase letters on the other words would have helped

[@johnalexander274]

I'm so glad you are covering it. I just played it a few week's ago and it's now my favorite game of all time

[@sylveonsugar5393]

if you enjoyed the time loop and puzzle solving here, you should totally check out outer wilds if you haven't already ! it's amazing, emotional, and genuinely so so so so fantastic to play and experience.

[@DarwinAwardWinner]

Seconding this. Play OW without learning anything else about it. Don't even watch the trailer or read the game description, that's spoilers.

[@richtheobald4390]

I harp on about OW to everyone ad nauseam

[@TCO_404]

OW is a game I hope to go back to eventually. I love everything about the game in theory, but it just hasn't clicked for me.

[@DarwinAwardWinner]

​@@TCO_404 OW very intentionally never ever tells you what to do, other than grabbing the launch codes (and even the person who gives you the codes asks you what YOU want to do instead of telling you). That's off-putting to a lot of players because we're so used to games giving us objectives and other kinds of explicit direction. If that sounds like your issue, my recommendation is to just hop in your shop, find something interesting-looking, and go toward it. Before long, you'll get an idea for what the game is really about.

[@lilyl4475]

time loops are one of my favorite types of narrative, and i cant thank yall enough for a new one to tear into :)

[@ynnadanny]

Hopefully you've played the ACTUAL best time loop game, Outer Wilds.

[@justarandompersoniguess]

Time loop stories have two different outcomes: they’re either really mediocre or they’re an unforgettable masterpiece. There is no inbetween.

[@justarandompersoniguess]

Update to my last comment: Yeah this game is absolutely the latter, absolutely no contest. Fun small addition to what I said: Deathloop easily fits the former. It’s fun but nothing too memorable.

[@peterclarke7240]

Hello newish reviewer person! Good job, like the mix of humour and analysis. You're in great company, and we appreciate you!

[@revzsaz9418]

Thanks for this piece Rachel 😊 I like the distinction between "playing the loop" and "playing with the loop." Neat concept 😁 Cheers and hope you and yours have the happiest possible holidays! 🙏🍻😁

[@The_Reaper_Ren]

This game already peaked my interest since it had a time loop but the fact that the main character is written to react to the loop is putting this on my radar.

[@MedievalGenie]

Reminds me of my first try in Undertale and Flowey calling me out for killing someone then reloading a save to do better and save her. I flinched in real life, being called out was quite the stinger!

[@dunder567]

I never thought I would play a time loop game as good as Outer Wilds, but In Stars and Time came really close.

[@Grandmaster-Vex]

I'm so glad to see this game get some attention, I hope it grows the fan base so the game can get the accolades it deserves.

[@whyor3619]

love the video! my favorite time loop game is Outer Wilds. It also leverages a time loop making death just a fail state you can retry. the loop makes it possible to find a solution even though it is too late. the ending to outer wilds is the only time I have cried playing a game.

[@elsesome2707]

Oh it's out? It's someone's favorite! Great!! Looking forward to my own playthrough!

[@androsh9039]

Finished it today, great game!

[@Bashfluff]

Thank you for highlighting the games that are coming out after people have already decided on the best games of the year. Also, In Stars and Time is awesome and I'm happy to see more people playing it.

[@kronosbach5263]

I didn't hear of this anywhere until now! Thanks, genuinely, cause it's unexpected and exactly the kind of thing I'm feeling like playing.

[@dragondude7107]

This is absolutely my favorite game of the year, if not my favorite game ever

[@josuelservin]

What a nice review, love the presentation, humor and commentary, and I'm curious to try the game, so thanks!

[@henry3k90]

This game reminds me of the re-zero anime. The MC is cursed to revive when he dies, and remembers each death while unable to tell anyone about it.

[@mattwubben4103]

This is my personal game of the year. Everything in the story connected so well to me and I've never felt closer to a character I was playing as while going through a game. It kills me I can't shout out my favorite bits without spoiling it for others but please play this if you have not.

[@sirwolfnsuch]

Thanks Amy, I'll give this one a try

[@bluemcneil5883]

Excellent recommendation piece, right up my alley sitting next to Undertale Yellow

[@luke2415]

oh this looks awesome, I appreciate videos like this for putting games on my radar

[@86fifty]

I love seeing people's favorites, thank you for showing off something you loved

[@Alexis-vv5bk]

Oh this is lovely. Your voice and writing is way excellent. Gonna check this game out and her other videos

[@gaberiando]

Suh a nice chnage in a review. Personal, sin leveled, completly honest. amazing Job Rachel and Jesse

[@ivorywizard]

i love this game its so good

[@PengWinDood]

Welp you sold me on it. I'm gonna play this game.

[@funnylittlecreature]

So~? How are you doing?

[@tomjack1000000]

I'm looking forward to trying it out. Played the demo and had a really good time.

[@spaceemperorspar4791]

This looks amazing, I really fell in love with time loop games this year and I really want to check this out now

[@AT7outof10]

As a fan of Grim Grimoire and Majora's Mask, I clearly am a sucker for Groundhogs Day in game form, so I guess I gotta play this now!

[@ty_sylicus]

Really enjoying this channel!

[@Rikika333]

This game is a wild ride and there are a couple of extra neat things you can do and see if you go a bit off the beaten path.

[@worthstream]

Wow, a time loop game I somehow have missed! Thanks for the review, instant buy! 😁

[@kenhamilton3713]

Bravo, loved it. Doing justice to barely glimbsed games 😊

[@PlebNC]

The background music is like chill beats to talk about JRPG Groundhog Day to.

[@goffe2282]

I never heard of this game, but now I have:)❤

[@eliorlev4300]

love this new rendition of 3mr. great vid. will check the game out

[@Rubberman202]

Aww man, another incredible indie game that came out this year? This is the year that just keeps on giving when it comes to amazing games!

[@RyanBeardy]

Looks fun! Great video!

[@Broelbrak]

Okay I'm sold

[@edwardnewtonLA]

Great video, one request please: spoiler alert. Stars and Time feels like exactly the game I'd want to play, and I feel like I missed some of the surprises of it

[@justarandompersoniguess]

I agree, however don’t worry too much since a lot of the experience lies in the details, like buildup and the journey throughout the game, not the fact it happens alone. This game is much longer than you’d think (and pretty dense as the video mentions) so don’t let the mostly base level stuff spoil it.

[@WhyWeGame]

Obligatory, play Outer Wilds if you really like time loops! Def one of the best games to do it in the modern day. I'll have to give this a look now though!

[@NAJALU]

Ah good. Now I don't have to post the comment. Back to badgering all my friends to play it.

[@georgewebb9074]

Nice new show I really likeing this

[@The24thWight]

Lovely. I'm not huge on persona so knowing I can skip the spinoffs is nice.

[@deebzscrub]

I honestly wasn't really into the art style of this one, but after hearing this review I'm actually quite interested in checking it out.

[@TBrius88]

Fun review, thanks!

[@Failure-v9l]

I also love how in START AGAIN:the prologue which is another game with siffrin, they attempt to destroy the loop instead of fullfilling its purpose (spoilers in replies)

[@Failure-v9l]

The siffrin on START AGAIN is actually the character named loop in that game,where after loop suceeds to destroy the wish that created the loops,they decided to make another wish which made start again's siffrin turn into loop,this can be proven on the moments where loop says "you may address me as we." or when he knows things he shouldn't like the name of siffrin,their party's names and everything and it becomes obvious when you fight loop.

[@thecraigcake2309]

​@@Failure-v9l Really? I havent thought too much about START AGAIN but it felt more like its own thing, its just that loop mentions they never once beat the king i think but in the game one of the ending you do defeat the king kinda creating a contradiction.

[@shasta_creates]

May I kindly request a review of Void Stranger? It's a new favorite of mine, and I would love it to get more attention than it currently has.

[@kreeps3545]

What a cool review !! I felt your passion for the game. And when you called a citiy bulding "loop game" "Ypur own peraonam hel" I laugjed, reallt hard, and had to watch the rest.

[@TheCreepypro]

love me a good time loop!

[@josephcompton5602]

Need to check this game out at some point. it does look quite good.

[@undergnomes6248]

Lol I think you beat me by about 25 loops it's such a great fun game!

[@avataraarow]

Dangit, I thought I had played all the games I wanted for 2023, but now I have to add one more to the to be played list😂

[@fissionphoenix4995]

I'm skeptical anything can be more perfect in any way than Outer Wilds

[@fissionphoenix4995]

This does sound interesting anyway and I'll add to my wishlist in hopes of checking it out one day.

[@justarandompersoniguess]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@fissionphoenix4995Outer wilds is great but I must say, this game is an experience of its own. Not implying it’s better or worse, just that they really are two VERY different styles of time loop stories. If you get the game one day, be sure you’re ready to sink more time than expected into it.

[@Patashu]

I gotta check this one out

[@emmycaraveo]

Love this new show!

[@TheSentinel909]

what a wonderful video

[@bookgobloblin8412]

comment to appease the algorithm gods so more people find out abt ISAT

[@kuukeli]

thank you for the video

[@SconeysASMR]

New show!!

[@definepoetic]

Great review, it on Gamepass perchance?

[@-aexc-]

gal gadot jumpscare 😵‍💫

[@LazyUggugg]

I only looped like 50 times, but it did take me like 36hours to finish

[@novasolarius8763]

Any plans for Bytesized and The Backdrop shirts? Maybe Adventure Is Nigh, too?

[@SecondWindGroup]

Yup! In the New Year.

[@LordBeef]

A video that talks about video game time loops and doesn’t mention Outer Wilds? How…and why?

[@CJBooks4]

TUNIC is my top favorite game of 2023

[@julianemery718]

Never heard of this game, but when i think of games that do the time thing, I immediately think of Outer Wilds.

[@joefitzgerald3382]

Reminds me of the perfect run

[@juliankeyani129]

Oh my gosh this video is so well done! Yahtzee better watch his ass

[@Whalerguy]

The protag reminds me of the look of the protag in "a hat in time" is there any connection between the two games?

[@iwasbibliomaniac]

no connection afaik! the dev listed a number of influences (tales of symphonia, undertale, omori, stanley parable among them; there's a list in various interviews and such) and other than that based it off of a short comic series she did, but a hat in time has never been mentioned at any rate

[@Whalerguy]

@@iwasbibliomaniac thanks for the reply, just a weird coincidence what with the name and art style.

[@Idonotknowofname]

​@@iwasbibliomaniac where is the list of influences?

[@FaisLittleWhiteRaven]

@@Idonotknowofname Most likely on the dev's Tumblr (Insertdisc5) I'd say. She has a lot of interesting little tidbits about the characters and design choices (as well as tons of adorable character art) there so I wouldn't be surprised if the list of influences for In Stars and Time is in one of the many Q&As about it. ...Though she's also prone to occasionally popping into people's chats when they're playing through the game and dropping a bunch of random comments about stuff so idk, could've been mentioned in the chat of a well known playthrough or something.

[@davidgribble6313]

This comment is to help this channel in the algorithm.

[@Lucernam]

My screen name being "Syphryn" for almost everything and hearing someone named "Siffrin" in this game had me feeling weird. Like hearing your name said over and over again by a person talking to someone else.

[@Ceece20]

Kind of a side rant for me, but I'm not a huge fan of making death a benefit for the player. In Hades, death gives certain upgrades and boons that aren't available first time around. It makes me feel like that first life really doesn't mean anything and I should just die as soon as possible. While it is a difficulty curve of sorts, where dying over and over again makes it easier the next time around, I would rather have the Dark Souls approach, where death is just another chance. Yahtzee put it the best way: "I want to fire myself at the wall over and over again in the vain attempt that my skull eventually breaks it down and I feel all the better for doing it myself". I don't want hand holding for dying. I want to feel like I broke down the barrier with my own skill. I want to feel like I have gotten better as a gamer by facing the same challenge I did before, but with my own knowledge and skill. I don't want the game to make it easier just because I died.

[@eyelessbun5785]

I'll say for Stars and Time, death doesn't actually give any direct benefit, and the issue with feeling like the first death is useless is mitigated by the fact that A) you don't get a say in the first death at all and B) you HAVE to survive long enough every loop to find the story beats, as its a story first kind of game. Also, you lose all your items and your team members lose their skills and levels, so as you go on it becomes trickier to make sure Siffrin isn't one shotting everything leaving your party severely underleveled for the Final Boss.

[@ATRStormUnit]

She has the Yuki Nagato experience.

[@GodOfGames523]

Damn, I saw the game on steam and while it looked decent I didn't find any reason to play it, after this I'll add it to the wishlist and wait a bit 'til I can afford it

[@GodOfGames523]

I bought it, played it, and finished it, it's a masterpiece

[@rocko7711]

❤

[@1423big]

Is there a physical copy? 🥺

[@mesektet5776]

I always figured Crono and Serge were going through that sort of dull malaise after New Game+ 3 or so.

[@Wolfeman4sure]

Saying what platforms the games are available on would be a nice inclusion in these reviews.

[@Graavigala85]

lööps, möre lööps

[@metagames.errata7777]

My brain skipped the word "in". Sometimes it helps a lot to just be a little too dumb to read every word in a sentence.

[@xSaraxMxNeffx]

the game feels like one shot. i wonder if its linked to the same devs

[@iwasbibliomaniac]

nope! there's just one dev here, insertdisc5 (alongside a studio for the music and an additional programmer for some of the harder bits) and there's no connection to whoever made one shot

[@xSaraxMxNeffx]

@@iwasbibliomaniac ah, neat. new dev to add to my watch list ^_^

[@blakefisher296]

My average play time was 183:23:12 idk what you’re talking about

[@CrimsonColbat]

I see it’s a Covid game. All art has subtly been influenced by the pandemic if you look hard enough . It sounds interesting enough to me so I’ll try it soon.

[@barryditmer7390]

I'm interested what you mean by this.

[@usernotfound-jw7xs]

"20 hour run time" EXCUSE ME????

[@TypicalAlec]

I'll be wish listing that then

[@mindcookies3533]

🎉🎉❤