InXile Entertainment has released fresh gameplay details for "Clockwork Revolution" and confirmed its 2027 release. However, there's bad news for PlayStation 5 owners: the steampunk RPG will be exclusive to Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Game Pass.
Butterfly effect from a first-person perspective
Developer inXile sends us to the smoky steampunk metropolis of Avalon. We play Morgan Vanette, a fully customizable character. The world around us is filthy. Above, the grand boulevard gleams, while below, in the district known as "The Tangle," people suffocate in the ashfall.
The centerpiece in “clockwork revolution“This is the Chronometer. With this time machine, we travel into the past to alter key moments in history. Anyone who acts carelessly here changes the present, and your allies, the Rotten Row Hooligans, feel the effects immediately. Friends can become strangers with the slightest intervention. Or even dead. Every decision has far-reaching consequences.”
We are accompanied by Prentice, a flying automaton. She serves as a guide through the branching realities and possesses her own skill tree. Time manipulation isn't just a nice gimmick for cutscenes here. The "Displace" ability, for example, allows objects in the game world to be instantly repositioned. This solves puzzles or hurls exploding barrels into groups of enemies. Physics as a weapon.
A dictator controls the timeline
We're not the only ones tampering with the clock. The ruler of Avalon, Lady Ironwood, has long used time-travel technology to secure her power. As soon as we uncover her machinations, she'll unleash the industrial secret service on us.
The new gameplay promises an incredibly immersive atmosphere. The art design is strongly reminiscent of "Bioshock Infinite," but in terms of gameplay, it's intended to be a genuine role-playing game with profound consequences.
Chaos in the virtual vault
The trailer presents a full-blown heist sequence that completely escalates. Morgan and the Rotten Row hooligans attempt to rob the Grizwick Bank, but their plan backfires spectacularly. Alarms blare through the streets, gunshots ring out, and the gang engages in heated verbal battles with the law.
When Morgan sabotages a loading crane to lower the escape ship, the trap snaps shut. Antagonist Lady Ironwood appears in person, taunts the gang as "expendable citizens," and seals the crew's fate. Anne is hit; the end seems near.
At that precise moment, the automaton companion Prentice intervenes. A violent explosion, time slows down, and Prentice catapults Morgan 25 years into the past. A hard cut that demonstrates how the gameplay works. From this point on, the timeline is rewritten. Those who die during the heist might be rescued in the past. Or things could get even worse.
"Clockwork Revolution" looks like a pretty ambitious role-playing game. The combination of first-person action, complex time travel, and a dark steampunk setting has enormous potential. inXile has proven time and again that they're masters of complex RPGs. The title could be a real highlight of 2027. Xbox and PC players are in for a treat. PS5 users are completely out of luck. That hurts.
What do you think? Is the loss of Clockwork Revolution a reason for you to consider buying an Xbox, or does the setting leave you cold?
Looks like one of the most interesting games in years.
Dishonored + BioShock…
If the top two are simply neglected and nobody can manage something like this, then inexile has to step in xD
Definitely a lot of potential!