It’s been a minute since we’ve heard from inXile Entertainment about Clockwork Revolution, the studio’s upcoming action game that mixes the steampunk feel of a BioShock with the RPG qualities the maker of Wasteland 3 is known for. A new gameplay reveal at Xbox’s summer showcase gave us our best look yet at what you’ll actually do in the game, as well as the news that it’s releasing in 2027 as an Xbox console exclusive.
Clockwork Revolution takes place in Avalon, an industrial city powered by an underworld of competing crime bosses. Players take control of Morgan Vanette, a character they customize at the beginning of the game, who navigates the grimy steampunk metropolis with a robotic drone-like companion named Prentice and a special device called the Chronometer that makes it possible to shift the flow of time.
The trailer introduces some of its abilities and Vanette’s fellow Rotten Row Hooligans members as the motley crew embarks on a heist gone wrong:
The game’s main antagonist is Lady Ironwood, who has a goon squad that will apparently try to hunt you down if you get in her way. There are definitely some parts of the trailer that look like an all-out FPS brawl.
One of the time-bending powers displayed in the trailer is called Displace and it lets you move objects in the world around to unlock new paths or turn the environment against enemies. Some big Dishonored-style immersive sim vibes. I really hope Clockwork Revolution has some version of a Blink ability. But the game’s time manipulation is also supposed to play a big role in how narrative consequences and character relationships evolve.
According to game director Chad Moore, the ways players use the Chronometer to alter the environment and change the past will directly impact your allies and change them in ways big and small. InXile Entertainment is really playing up how playthroughs will differ from player to player based on what they do, but it’s still hard to really get a sense of that from the latest trailer. The studio is promising more information later in the year and leading up to launch.
