Stargate: Timekeepers Critic Reviews

Recent unfortunate events led us to think that the Commandos-like genre would struggle to come up with new quality games, but here comes Stargate: Timekeepers to turn the tide, while rehabilitating the SG-1 IP that had fallen somewhat into oblivion. Vast and highly structured levels filled with enemies to avoid, overcome or eliminate by taking advantage of the environment, an AI that knows when to turn a blind eye and charismatic characters with exclusive abilities make this game a must buy for all stealth RTS lovers.

I'm pretty pleased with the first seven episodes of Stargate: Timekeepers. SG-1 and Atlantis have been off the air for 15 years now, and it sounds like we won't be getting any more Shadow Tactics games. So to get an experience that combines both of those bygone things I adore so effectively is a great surprise. I wish the story and characters had a bit more depth to them, and there are some issues with enemy behavior and missing keyboard shortcuts that could use a bit more polish. But overall, I would gladly venture forth through this stargate again.

Stargate: Timekeepers is a well-crafted stealth strategy game that is slightly affected by the expectations accompanying it for full enjoyment. If you fall into its potential audience (fans of the Stargate SG-1 series), you will find yourself more engaged in the intriguing situations meticulously designed by the developers, challenging your skills.

Stargate: Timekeepers delivers a decent core gameplay loop. Working with a variety of characters to move stealthily and eliminate enemies can be fun, especially when players are dealing with the more complex enemy setups. The constant visual reminder about quick saving is a good idea. But the narrative fails to make interesting use of the complex Stargate universe and none of the characters will keep players engaged. There’s little in the game that actually involves the Stargate system itself. Timekeepers is fun for fans of the stealth tactics space who are looking for new challenges and for die-hard fans of Stargate who are looking for another story set in that universe.

A good take on the Commandos type of strategy games. The biggest Timekeeper's sin is that it basically requires to watch seven seasons of a tv series to be fully appreciated. On a side note, it is an excellent tv series.

Stargate: Timekeepers is an interesting tactical stealth, but it could have done better with such a beloved IP.

Stargate: Timekeepers is a solid clone of Commandos, falling just short of standing among the genre's top tier. There's also a missed potential in the story, which despite the effort feels more like mediocre glue holding missions together. However, there's still hope that the developers will improve in the second half of the story, which is yet to be released. It's simply a fun addition to its genre, though it might be easily forgotten afterward.

Stargate Timekeepers wants to bring the iconic sci-fi series back into vogue in the gaming world, but it succeeds with some glaring uncertainty in tow. The plot has some brighter moments towards the conclusion (of the first half) but also some inconsistencies linked to a characterization of the characters that is not always effective. The offensive possibilities within the tactical mode are interesting but also limited, as is the breadth of environments which ended up underlining some unrefined aspects of the gameplay. Timekeepers may appeal to the most avid fans of the franchise, but it lacks the refinements that could have made it an RTS capable of reaching greater heights. It remains to be seen whether future additions and improvements will increase the effectiveness of the gaming experience.

Stargate Timekeepers is a decent representative of the genre, but can only hold its own against the competition because of its license.

For all the faults that I’ve outlined above, the gameplay itself is adequate, unrefined, and needing polish, but adequate, nonetheless. Where it fell down most for me was in the story. The Stargate universe is full of potential, an almost limitless number of worlds all full of storytelling possibilities, so for that potential to not be realised, is disappointing.

At this point, Stargate fans are aching for a video game in this universe of almost any kind. This time, we got a tactical stealth game with many interesting mechanics and ideas, but that is unfortunately very janky, unpolished and a bit uninspired at times. Great for SG-1 fans, though.

On one level I am sure that there will be people that appreciate that, after all this time, they finally have a Stargate SG1 game. I just can’t help but see it as a missed opportunity on every level. Stargate was, at its core, a narrative-driven (not action) show about exploring the stars, meeting alien species and embracing science over religion. A more grounded take on Star Trek, basically. An isometric RPG in the vein of Disco Elysium would have certainly been harder to produce, but much more appropriate to the ideology and intent of Stargate than this stealth tactics title. It’s well-crafted and were it not carrying the license it would have been much easier to enjoy. Painted as it is, however, it’s far too dissonant and incoherent to be the celebration of the property that it needed to be.