This isn’t just another steampunk shooter: the new gameplay trailer for Clockwork Revolution caught my eye because-unlike most games that promise “choices matter”-it looks like InXile is genuinely letting players twist the timeline, watching ripples play out in real time. As a longtime RPG fan who’s seen too many shallow “consequence” systems, I’m both hyped and just a bit wary for what’s shaping up to be one of the most ambitious time-manipulation games in years.
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Publisher | InXile Entertainment |
| Release Date | TBD |
| Genres | Action RPG, Shooter, Steampunk, Narrative Adventure |
| Platforms | PC, Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass |
Let’s get real: most “time travel” games boil down to rewinding a few seconds or picking A/B decisions that change which flavor of ending cutscene you get. Clockwork Revolution-at least according to this beefy gameplay trailer—wants to throw that tired formula out the window. Here, you’re an amnesiac dropped into Avalon, a sprawling, industrial city that looks like BioShock Infinite by way of Dishonored and Arcanum. Your character is fully customizable, which always raises the question: will your backstory matter, or is it just window dressing?
The real hook is the temporal gadget you find early on. It’s not just for rewinding after you die—a mechanic so overused it’s basically the gaming world’s CTRL+Z. Instead, you seem able to actively alter events in the world, triggering a literal butterfly effect: save or sabotage an NPC, and you’ll feel the consequences ripple out immediately. The trailer shows gunfights that can be completely upended by rewinding and making a different call mid-battle. One moment you’re getting swarmed, the next you’ve disintegrated enemies with a well-timed time power, or set off a chain reaction that turns a losing fight around.
What really stood out to me, though, is how alive Avalon looks. Too many steampunk games fall into the trap of “Victorian London, but with pipes.” Here, there’s color, weirdness, and life—like an angry puppet NPC that seems straight out of a fever dream. The world-building comes off as distinctly InXile: they’ve got a knack for mixing irreverence with lore, as any Wasteland 3 fan can attest. But this is a long shot from turn-based tactics. Can InXile’s narrative and systems design carry over to a kinetic, first-person action RPG?
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have my doubts. The trailer’s promises are huge: your choices matter, not just at quest milestones, but in the moment-to-moment gameplay. That’s the dream for RPG fans who’ve been burned by branching-path marketing in the past—remember Fable? Or the dozens of games that promised “the world changes as you play” but delivered mostly reskinned NPC dialogue? Pulling this off dynamically, especially in gunfights, is a technical and design nightmare. That said, if anyone’s going to take a swing, it is InXile. Their last few games proved they can deliver systems-driven chaos, even if they’re sometimes rough around the edges.
It’s also worth noting the Game Pass launch. Microsoft wants more “wow factor” exclusives for their service, and Clockwork Revolution fits the bill: it’s the kind of game you want to try just to see if the time powers are as wild as they look. No word on a release date, which suggests they’re still deep in development (and hopefully not crunching to hit an arbitrary window).
If you’ve grown cynical about “choices matter” claims, you’re not alone. But Clockwork Revolution’s moment-to-moment timeline manipulation could breathe new life into the genre—if it works. It’s a high-wire act: if they actually let us meaningfully change the world and gunfights, it could be a new standard for narrative action RPGs. If it fizzles, it’ll just be another flashy trailer with shallow execution. Either way, it’s a game that’s got the attention of anyone who wants their actions to actually mean something.
Clockwork Revolution’s mix of real-time time manipulation, player-driven story, and lively steampunk style is ambitious as hell. If InXile can deliver on the butterfly effect promises—letting you alter the world and combat in meaningful ways—it could be a game-changer for narrative action RPGs. But with no release date and plenty of room for things to go wrong, cautious optimism is the name of the game. Keep an eye on this one—Avalon might just offer the timeline chaos we’ve been waiting for.