Just When I Thought I Was Out, Time Takers has the potential to pull Me Back Into Hero Shooters

Just when you thought the Gamescom Opening Night Live showcase was winding down, NCSoft decided to follow up the reveal of their long-awaited MMO Cinder City with a surprise haymaker: Time Takers. The internet collectively groaned, "another hero shooter," and frankly, I don't blame them. But having seen the trailer and dug into the details, I’m here to tell you to hold your cynicism for a minute. This new IP from developer Mistil Games might just have the chaotic spark the genre needs.

A Genre Mashup Through the Ages

The premiere trailer was a glorious mess of whiplash-inducing edits, flinging viewers between firefights in medieval Japan, a crumbling European castle, a modern city block, and a sleek futuristic arena. The characters are just as eclectic. We saw a drunken 16th-century knight charging with a shield, a samurai wielding an assault rifle, and, my personal favorite, a chimpanzee in a spacesuit chucking banana-shaped cluster grenades.

It’s a bizarre, anachronistic stew of concepts that shouldn't work, but the fast-paced, third-person action looked surprisingly fluid. The official site already details the first three "Travelers": Bertie the space chimp, Alis the combat robot with a disco ball, and Arthur the drunken knight. It’s clear they’re leaning hard into the absurdity, and I respect the hell out of it.

Time is Money, and Also Your Health Bar

Here’s the hook that could make or break the whole thing: time is everything. The game’s official tagline is "Time is the currency. Survival is the cost". From what we know, players collect "Time Energy" by fighting or finding it in the world. This resource is your lifeline, literally depleting like a health bar, but you also spend it to upgrade your skills, buy new weapons, or even revive your fallen teammates.

This creates a fascinating risk-reward loop. Do you spend your precious seconds to get stronger right now, or do you hoard them to ensure you can survive the next firefight? It’s a constant tactical choice. The game also sidesteps traditional hero shooter roles by letting you fully customize your loadout with different weapons and passive "apps," meaning the same character can play drastically differently depending on your choices.

Another Hero Shooter Enters the Thunderdome

Let’s be real, the hero shooter and battle royale markets are a graveyard of dead games. Players are exhausted, and a quick glance at the comments on the reveal trailer shows that Time Takers is already being met with a wall of skepticism. Games like Concord and Supervive have shown just how fast a player base can evaporate if a new title doesn't immediately prove its worth.

To their credit, NCSoft seems to know what they're up against. In an interview, NC America CEO Jeonghee Jin acknowledged the "saturated market" but believes the company's MMORPG experience and the unique creativity of Korean content can help

Time Takers find an audience. They’re not just trying to clone Apex Legends in third-person; they're aiming to bring a different design philosophy to the shooter space.

It's a bold claim, but the proof will be in the pudding. A closed playtest is slated to happen "soon," with character reveals in early September suggesting it could be just around the corner. That will be the game's first real test. For now, color me intrigued. The industry doesn't need another mediocre hero shooter, but as games like Marvel Rivals have shown, we’re always ready for a good one. And from what I've seen, Time Takers has a damn good shot.