Long ago, when video games were mainly found in huge arcade machines, a countdown was added to make sure everyone with a pocketful of coins could get a turn. As video games transitioned from public venues to homes, some games kept the time limit.
For many gamers, racing against the clock is an exhilarating test, while for others, the pressure can make games with a time limit unenjoyable. Whether it's a ticking bomb, the fear of the world ending, or something in between, time is a well-known foe in fiction and real life.
6 The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask
-72 Hours Remain-
- Link has a total of three days to halt the moon, with the option of resetting time and his progress
- Dungeons, quests, and exploration can potentially be cut short due to the need for an emergency reset
The most famous example of a nerve-wracking time limit in video games is found in Majora's Mask. After being turned into a tree person, Link must prevent a celestial object from crashing into the world in only three days. Many players tend to panic in the game's opening act and switch off their consoles before the moon falls and destroys everything in sight.
Even with the option to reset the time limit, the sense of urgency never fades, as Link must follow the laws of time while engaging in dungeons, facing aliens, and resolving the last regrets of a doomed world's traumatized inhabitants.
5 Outer Wilds
In And Out Of Time At The Eye Of The Storm
- The player has 22 minutes before the solar system resets
- Time resets automatically, a feature of the system that drives the game's central mystery
In Outer Wilds, the miniature solar system operates like clockwork, and the player must explore and unravel the mystery behind the recurring cycle within the 22-minute time window.
4 Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13
A Week Or Two Before The End Of All Things
- Lightning has seven days to shepherd the dead to the new universe
- Depending on how many optional quests she completes, the time limit can be extended to thirteen
In Lighting Returns, the world is succumbing to the end of days, and Lightning must collect all the stray souls within a span of seven days, or thirteen with additional quests completed.
3 Fallout
Only So Much Time After The End Of The World
- The vault dweller gets 150 days to replace the chip
- Upon restoring the water chip, an invisible 500-day timer dictates how long the player has until their vault is overrun
In the original Fallout games, a time limit is placed on the player's objective, adding urgency to the narrative.
2 Dead Rising
News Cycles Have Short Lifespans, And So Does Frank West
- Frank West only has three days of coverage on the ground
- The time limit gives the player's story structure and meaning, as they strive to uncover the cause of the outbreak within the given time
In Dead Rising, the time limit adds structure to the player's story, infusing every decision with purpose and consequences.
1 The Sims 2-4
Rapidly Aging Over The Course Of A Weekend Is Just A Fact Of Life
- Sims have been aging since The Sims 2, moving from life stages over the course of a few days
- A sim's lifespan can be adjusted in the options menu, but they do not last very long
In The Sims universe, sims age rapidly, with their lives passing by within a few in-game days.