Lemnis Gate: More time-bending madness arrives today

Lemnis Gate launched today on PC, PlayStation and Xbox consoles, but those who are Xbox Game Pass subscribers can actually play the game for free. Lemnis Gate is one of more than a dozen titles that arrived on Xbox Game Pass this month, and is easily one of the more intriguing games.

If you thought Deathloop took you on a time-bending ride, just wait until you play Lemnis Gate, which is described as a “time-warping, turn-based combat strategy FPS.” Um, what?

Actually it’s not as complicated as it sounds. But it is as awesome as is sounds. Imagine the concept of Bethesda’s Deathloop, but reworked as a multiplayer arena shooter.

Matches are played within a 25-second time loop, with each team taking alternating turns of action. During your turn, you can take whatever action you want be it targeting an objective, protecting a teammate or eliminating an enemy. At the end of the 25 seconds, the other team goes and tries to counter your moves.

Here’s where things get really crazy though. After both teams have taken their turn, the next round starts. You’ll have another 25 seconds to execute your next action, while facing the actions from the prior loop. Armed with the knowledge of the previous rounds actions, you can use your new turn to try and counter your enemy.

For example, if you know an enemy runs to a certain location during the loop, you can lay damaging toxic waste in their path and eliminate them before they ever get there. Or you can slow time to set up the perfect shot and eliminate them yourself.

By knowing the past, you can change the future. There are a total of five rounds to each match, each 25 seconds continuing to build and react to one another.

In between rounds, you can fly a drone to analyze the battlefield and plan your next move accordingly. What’s really cool is that even if you die mid-round, you can finish your turn as a ghost and the actions you perform become real if you are saved in a later turn.

The only time the actual winner is determined is the final round. So while things may be looking bleak in round two or three, you can turn the tide of the battle with proper strategy and planning and come out victorious.

Having just got done playing Deathloop, I’m all about the time-warping gameplay mechanic. Lemnis Gate manages to take this concept and cleverly apply it to a multiplayer FPS, which is something I’ve never seen before.

Lemnis Gate is available today for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC. If you have Xbox Game Pass it’s free on console and PC.