Lemnis Gate Review

This game is unlike anything I've ever played before. I guess the closest approximation is a little bit of 5D Chess with a little bit of (insert single player FPS here). It's a 1v1 or 2v2 shooter played in a 25 second time loop. You each take turns playing, and every time you play, you add a new version of yourself to the 25 second time loop. Your actions are recorded, and unless they are disrupted by the enemy player, they will take the same actions each time.

At first it was super confusing, because the meta here is unlike anything I've experienced before. I can pick up and play any shooter or platformer and play pretty competently because my skills transfer over, but with Lemnis Gate I feel like a baby walking for the first time. But hey, so is everyone else to start!

My best recommendation to get into this game is to play with a friend. Ideally someone who is also new to the game, or otherwise someone who is kind enough to lend you their time to teach you the ropes. Reason being is that it can feel very demoralising to play the game with randoms right from the start, because you'll feel like a fish out of water. I had the most fun when I played with a friend, and we learned the game through repeating games with each other. At first we both sucked, but after trial and error together, we managed to learn the meta bit by bit, and the game got more and more fun each time.

Anyway, to explain the appeal of the game I like to go through a basic loop me and my friend would go through. I would start the game by capturing all 3 points in 25 seconds. In my friend's turn, they might send out a sniper to kill my past self at the start of the loop, so they don't capture the three points. In my next turn, I have the option of either following a new path and trying to capture other points, or I can protect my past self by throwing a shield on him, protecting him from my friend's past self's sniper shot, restoring the future where they capture the three points, leaving me free to use the rest of the 25 seconds to capture another point or something. My friend then has the option of spending another turn trying to fight to stop my first self again, or taking the offensive instead. The game continues until 5 turns are up, and then we play a second round with the starting player switched (since the player to take the final turn has a significant advantage). The winner is determined by total victory points, and if there's a tie, they round up a score based on kills and damage dealt.

Now this may sound really intimidating, and it is a little at first, but it's also incredibly rewarding to get the hang of, especially when you're playing against someone of equal skill level. I still have a lot to learn with this game, but once the full game is out, I'll definitely be picking it up and playing with friends. Not many shooters that are fun to play 1v1!

Only downside is, you do need to have a bit of a strategy mind and some fps skills to be able to play well, which isn't something for everybody. But if you've read my review and it sounds like something you'd enjoy, please give it a chance! And rope a friend in too, if you can!