Back in 2009, Zeit² caught my attention after some footage of the game in development at the Independent Games Festival. Dubbed then as the first single player coop game where the player plays both roles, it certainly was a standout. Considering it went on to become a Finalist for the Student Showcase it’s not hard to understand why. With so many around nowadays, a side scrolling shoot‘em up really needs to differentiate itself to warrant my gaming time. By doing something both unique, different and ingenious, Zeit² definitely fit the bill.

Developed out of a student project, the hook for the game was already there and it is that hook that makes Zeit² so unique. The normal shump mechanics apply with a ship of sorts moving along the screen as enemies hurl towards you, hell-bent on taking you down, whilst you utilise a series of weapons and powerups, all of which is wrapped up in a paper-thin plot. Now throw in time travel, the games primary gameplay mechanic, and things get interesting. By using the available time travel players can team up with themselves to take down the foes onscreen. The principle alone is fantastic and being able to take out a group of enemies at the top of the screen, rewind, and watch a shadow of you conduct the engagement you just performed, as present you eliminates the remaining baddies out at the bottom is hugely satisfying.

Sometimes you may need to use time travel to take out some enemies that you missed, sometimes it’s a premeditated attack; the best times are the when you’ve planned ahead to utilise the coop benefits. Once you reserve time, your time travelling clone becomes a shadow that you can use as a shield, fire against to create a shockwave or use to increase the destructive nature of the advanced weapons. This all adds a layer of strategy to the game, something often missing from shumps, as positioning is key. Keeping your initial craft as steady as possible so that you can defend or attack effectively is vital to survival, especially during the boss fights that demand it.

Commonly in other shumps, if an enemy gets by you just lose the points available from blowing them to pieces; not here though. If a foe manages to slip past it will suck away your shield until they’re off the screen. Firing your weapon also decreases you shield, meaning you can’t just keep your finger firmly on the trigger. All of these factors increase the necessity for strategy and bring a fabulous twist to the traditional shoot’em up offerings.

A great variety of modes are present with Arcade being the primary focus. Arcade mode is the traditional stage after stage mode with several boss battles thrown in, with any small hint of a plot sensibly removed. Aside from the boss battles, the difficulty is moderate and provides a suitable challenge without becoming frustrating. Annoyingly though, the bosses see a huge increase in difficulty, requiring you to deceiver their hidden tells, which are sometimes impossible to preempt.

There are of course the additional modes which only require a single play of the previously unlocked mode to gain access to, giving you plenty of playtime. The different game modes offer an impressive variety of play with: Wave – fight off wave after wave of enemies until one manages to get past, Time Limit – get as many points as possible in the allocated time limit, Survival – play until you die, Score Attack – go for the high score, and Tactics – introducing puzzle-solving mechanic in fantastic fashion. The variety and quantity of the modes are matched on by their own quality. Each mode is wonderfully crafted and the ideas are brilliant, singling out the Tactics mode for special praise.

Whilst the single player co-op idea is fantastic, it is still a shame that there is no form of multiplayer whatsoever. Leaderboards are the closest to a social experience and whilst a few of the modes do emphasise the competition between others, the effectiveness of the solo cooperative nature of Brightside Games first title makes your own success rewarding enough. The game is responsive in its controls with little to note in favour or against, whilst visually it’s clean and crisp with a lovely mixture of Geometry Wars and fl0w. The soundtrack is nothing to shout home about but its dance anthem-esque fit the bill suitably.

Zeit² is a brilliant clever and original shoot ‘em up easily distinguishes itself from the crowd. It is different and brings a new dimension to the genre, and with it’s unique single player coop gameplay Zeit² does a lot right. The lack of mutliplayer is a big sticking point however, but shouldn’t put you off getting your time travelling boots on.