Out of Time Launches on Epic: A Co-op Roguelike with 190M Builds and Big Promises

A co-op roguelike where eras collide-here’s the real hook

Out of Time caught my eye because it aims straight at that sweet spot between Risk of Rain 2’s co-op chaos and ARPG gear tinkering, with an audacious “190 million gear combinations” claim on top. It’s out now on PC, exclusively on the Epic Games Store, for 22.39 EUR. The pitch: timelines have shattered, you hub up in Infinitopia, then raid fractured Medieval, Modern, and Wasteland zones-solo or with up to four players-chasing loot, builds, and bosses. A unique tethering system buffs your squad as a force multiplier, and difficulty ratchets from Normal to Hard to “Shattering.”

• Launch content: three eras (Medieval, Modern, Wasteland), solo or four-player online co-op.
• Buildcraft headline: up to 190 million gear combos spanning past, present, and future tech/magic.
• Free Solarpunk era lands in November; leaderboards, PvP, and a MOBA-inspired mode target 2026.
• Epic Games Store exclusive now; Steam and console ports are planned for 2026.

Key Takeaways

• The era mash-up is genuinely fresh potential for enemy variety and off-the-wall builds.
• “190 million combinations” only matters if synergies are meaningful and balanced.
• Co-op tethering could be a standout mechanic—if it rewards teamwork without forcing meta comps.
• Roadmap timing is odd: Solarpunk is soon, but leaderboards, PvP, and new platforms slip to 2026.

Breaking down the promise vs. the play

Manticore says Out of Time blends MMOs, action RPGs, roguelikes, and co-op—an ambitious stew most games struggle to plate. The interesting part is how runs sound structured: you push zones “to untangle corruption,” take on brutal bosses, and escalate difficulty through repeatable raids. That’s a proven loop if the enemy/boss roster actually forces you to rethink builds. The flavor here—a cyborg duking it out with a wizard in the Wastelands, a medic plus shapeshifter duo shredding a mutated crab in the modern era—screams sandbox. If the gear pool supports real cross-era synergies (think DoT stacking from medieval alchemy plus future-tech overcharge), then the buildcraft could sing.

The co-op tethering system is the wildcard. Squad-wide buffs that scale as a “force multiplier” can either be magic or misery. Done well, it encourages creative comp-building (support-tether amplifying a glass-cannon caster, tank tether anchoring an ADS-heavy cyborg). Done poorly, we get rigid metas—“bring X or don’t queue”—which murders experimentation in a roguelike. I’ll be watching early impressions for whether tethering scales with playstyle variety or narrows it.

About those 190 million builds: big numbers are marketing napalm. What matters is whether the 20 you actually encounter in a night feel distinct. It’s not about permutations; it’s about personality. If “medic shotgun + shapeshift burst + time-slow ultimate” plays fundamentally differently from “cyborg railgun + energy leech + medieval shield bash,” we’re good. If it’s just stat sticks with different hats, the novelty wears off by your third Shattering run.

Manticore, Core, and the Epic exclusivity angle

Manticore built Out of Time in Core (their UGC platform) and Unreal Engine 5. That’s intriguing: Core’s tooling should let them ship content faster than a bespoke pipeline. Rapid iteration is oxygen for roguelikes—new gear, enemies, and modifiers keep runs fresh. The flip side: players will expect equally quick balance patches when a busted combo trivializes Shattering. If you promise infinite replayability, you sign up for infinite tuning.

Epic Games Store exclusivity isn’t shocking given Manticore’s Epic-friendly history, but it does split the audience. The plan is Steam and console ports in 2026, which is a long runway in multiplayer terms. Community momentum matters. If you’re EGS-averse, you’ll be arriving late to a meta that’s already solved. Cross-progression wasn’t mentioned; if that’s not a thing later, early adopters may feel punished for switching platforms.

Roadmap reality check: Solarpunk soon, the rest later

The free Solarpunk era landing in November is a smart, near-term drop—new biome, mobs, bosses, and gear themes arriving while launch energy is still high. After that, the messaging gets murkier. Leaderboards, PvP, and a MOBA-inspired mode are slotted for 2026. For a roguelike, delaying leaderboards feels like a miss; racing seeds and flexing clears are day-one community glue. PvP and a MOBA mode could be cool diversions, but they risk distracting from the core PvE loop unless the playerbase is massive.

Price-wise, 22.39 EUR lands in that approachable AA-indie range. The press info doesn’t mention microtransactions or a battle pass. If cosmetics show up later, fine. If power creeps behind a cash wall, that’s a hard pass in a roguelike. Clarity on monetization and meta-progression (what persists between runs, what’s roguelite vs. roguelike) will determine how fair the grind feels.

What to watch at launch

• Netcode and stability: four-player chaos needs smooth hit-reg and reliable revives.
• Build diversity: do early drops enable distinct playstyles, or is fun gated behind deep grind?
• Tethering balance: does it enhance any squad, or enforce rigid comp metas?
• Boss design: are fights pattern-rich with readable tells, or HP sponges tuned around co-op only?
• Update cadence: how fast do hotfixes land when a broken combo surfaces?

Bottom line: Out of Time has a fresh aesthetic hook—era-mashing chaos—and some promising systems. If Manticore’s Core-driven toolchain delivers rapid, thoughtful updates, this could become a comfort-co-op staple. If the balance wobbles and the 2026 features are too slow to arrive, it risks being another “great idea, thin follow-through.” I’m cautiously optimistic, controller at the ready.

TL;DR

Out of Time launches today on EGS at 22.39 EUR with three eras, four-player co-op, and a big emphasis on buildcraft. Free Solarpunk content hits in November, but leaderboards, PvP, and new platforms won’t arrive until 2026. If the tethering system and gear synergies land, this could be a co-op roguelike you keep installed all year.