In Stars and Time

Siffrin finds themself trapped in a time loop, which the player can manipulate to solve problems. The game features a turn-based combat system which is based on a rock paper scissors formula. It originated as a webcomic series in 2018, and was preceded by the prologue Start Again in 2020. Released in 2023 for Windows and several consoles. Critics were generally positive towards the game, praising the characters and narrative, though some took issue with the looping gameplay. Following release, it received honorable mentions for the Nuovo Award and Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the 2024 Independent Games Festival.

• Title — In Stars and Time • Developer — insertdisc5 • Publisher — Armor Games Studios • Engine — RPG Maker MV • Platforms — * Nintendo Switch • PlayStation 4 • PlayStation 5 • Windows • Released — November 20, 2023 • Genre — Role-playing • Modes — Single-player

• Illustration — In Stars and Times battle system allows players to perform combos based on move types (denoted in the bottom right). In Stars and Time is a role-playing game that is viewed from a top-down perspective. Players control the main character Siffrin as they attempt to lead the party through the castle and defeat the King. The party navigates the House of Change and its surrounding village, where the player can initiate combat with enemies or interact with items and characters. Combat takes place in a first-person perspective; the game uses an active-time battle system. Different characters have specialised types based on a rock paper scissors system, though they can also use attacks outside their speciality. Enemies also have these types, which are usually indicated via their hand gestures. When the party performs five consecutive attacks of a type, a "jackpot" move is performed. These special group attacks can heal party members and deal damage to all enemies. Throughout the game, the player can end up repeating the same actions multiple times, as Siffrin is stuck in a time loop. However, they can also utilise the loops to learn how to solve problems, for example repeating conversations until they choose the correct option or find a certain item. Loops are generally only terminated when Siffrin dies; this can either be during combat, or by finding items that kill Siffrin. After looping back in time, the player can skip ahead to different floors, at the cost of in-game currency. If the player encounters dialogue they have already seen, they can fast-forward through it.

The player assumes control of Siffrin, who is leading his party from the town of Dormont to the House of Change. The House has been taken over by the King, who will perpetually freeze the country of Vaugarde in time if they fail to stop him. Siffrin is quickly killed by a trap after entering the House, but finds himself waking up in Dormont the day before, unharmed. After waking up, he is informed by a mysterious, star-shaped figure named Loop that he has been trapped in a time loop. Choosing not to tell his party, Siffrin uses his time loops and Loop's assistance to defeat the King and save Vaugarde. However, he soon discovers that he also gets looped back after defeating the King; Loop assures him that they will help him escape the situation. Siffrin uses the loops to find out more about his situation and discover a way out. Over the course of many loops, he learns that both he and the King come from a country that was erased from everyone's memory. Distraught by losing his memories, the King arrived in Vaugarde and was overjoyed by the compassion he was shown. To protect Vaugarde from meeting the same fate as his country, he chose to freeze it in time to preserve it so that it would remain "perfect". Siffrin discovers that the King has harnessed the rare powers of Wish Craft, which is capable of granting anyone's deepest wish. While making these discoveries, Siffrin grows closer to his party members by working through their personal problems, and he begins to consider them his new family. This worsens his mental stability, as he watches his party forget their experiences with him at the start of each loop, and he eventually views them as actors repeating lines in a play, as well as occasionally describing his circumstances through dramaturgical metaphor. He comes to believe that the citizens of Dormont unintentionally trapped him in the loop due to Wish Craft, but fails to get help. Out of leads, impatient, and worn down by experiencing a vast amount of loops, Siffrin snaps and insults his party, before leaving to confront the King by himself. Incredibly strong from fighting in many loops, Siffrin traverses the House alone and comes close to defeating the King, only to be slowed down and frozen in time. Overcome by fatigue and self-loathing, he breaks down and is tormented by hallucinations of his party. Eventually, with Loop's help, he is woken up by his actual party, which reflects one of the King's spells back at him, freezing the King in time just as he finally remembers his country. The party help Siffrin recover, but inadvertently raise the prospect of splitting up, causing him to have a meltdown. The power of Wish Craft enlarges him to a gigantic size, and he laments that he does not want his family to leave. Working together to calm him down, they realize that Siffrin's own Wish Craft was trapping him in the loops: he wished to stay with his party after defeating the King, but could not admit it. The others confess that they also felt the same, and the time loop finally stops. The game ends with Siffrin apologizing for his previous insults and coming to terms with each of his party members, as they end their journey and begin their next one. If the player takes certain actions, Siffrin can confront Loop again at the end. They admit to being an alternate version of Siffrin who wished to escape from the loop, and was sent to help the current Siffrin. Envious that Siffrin has managed to escape the loop while they are unrecognised by their former party, Loop tries to kill Siffrin and take his place. Regardless of the outcome, Siffrin assures them that he could not have escaped if not for their help. Moved by Siffrin's compassion, Loop disappears, assuring Siffrin that they will meet again.

In Stars and Time was developed by solo creator Adrienne Bazir, also known as insertdisc5. The game originated as a set of webcomics featuring the then-unnamed protagonist Siffrin in 2017. Bazir found the concept of prophecy and repetition to have potential for a role-playing game, and developed a short prototype: Start Again: A Prologue in 2020. Bazir used RPG Maker MV to develop the game. They initially intended both Start Again and the final game to remain relatively small in scope, but both projects grew as development progressed. The black-and white graphical style was chosen for simplicity. Key inspirations included RPGs such as Undertale and Tales of Symphonia. Bazir was inspired by the latter when writing, wanting to avoid undue focus on Siffrin by making each member of his party distinct and ensuring that they had a "very interesting and rich inner life". From their perspective, Siffrin would not even be the central character in the events that occurred before the start of the game, with another member explicitly being named as the "chosen one" in-game. The Stanley Parable was also cited by Bazir as a "conscious inspiration" for the game in its approach to creating a "conversation with the player" and instilling a sense of "unease". The looping narrative was influenced by the repetitive and solitary nature of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the writing mirroring Bazir's connections with their friends during that time. Additionally, they wanted to expand on the video game trope of replaying sections after dying by having the main character remember previous iterations. Parts of the game were intentionally made repetitive to emphasise the situation Siffrin is in and convey those feelings to the player, with Bazir aiming to create a player experience that was "authentic" to Siffrin's story. The player's annoyance as dialogue is repeated was designed to mirror what Siffrin would also be thinking, with Bazir stating that "art should make you feel bad emotions sometimes". However, they were also inspired by The Stanley Parable to add moments where the repetition is broken and the player is "completely caught off guard". The game was announced by Bazir and Armor Games Studios in March 2022, and it was showcased in IGN's Summer of Gaming event in June 2023. It was released on November 20, 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows. In 2024, following the game's release, insertdisc5 and Studio Thumpy Puppy collaborated with Yetee Records to create a physical vinyl copy of the full OST. Along with a limited edition physical copy of the game, insertdisc5 celebrated the one year anniversary of the games' release with an artbook featuring concept art and art from the games' development.