Clockwork Revolution: inXile on Time Travel, Visual Reactivity, that Foulmouthed Doll, and More — Exclusive Interview

Sticking with Alfie, we also see a brutal scene when Morgan enters his shop and chooses to antagonize him.

Brian: It was important for us to speak directly to core roleplaying fans and show what this game really is. We slow things down for a moment, let the conversation breathe, and show the systems at work. That scene with Alfie isn’t just dramatic, it sets the tone. This is a game that can be brutal. Not just in combat, but in the choices you make and how the world responds. It’s not just about cinematics, it’s about the kind of deep, reactive RPG we love to build, and that our players expect.

Chad: It also highlights our multi-person conversations. Some conversations will have multiple people involved, and who you choose to speak to can send you down different dialogue branches. This can wildly change where a conversation ends up going. In the case of the trailer, Morgan chose to speak to Errol instead of Alfie, despite obvious warnings, and that resulted in poor Errol’s death. So, if you choose to go down that path, Errol is then a character that won’t be in the rest of the game.

Brian: Conversations have meaningful consequences, and I think it’s worth mentioning we have truly evil conversation options. You see a few of those play out in the trailer. If you’re offering evil options, they need to actually pay off and have meaningful consequences in order for the good choices to feel good. Otherwise, you’re not truly playing the way you want to play. 

Speaking of combat, let’s talk about weapons and gadgets. The weapon bench is a standout moment for me.

Chad: From the onset of the project, we wanted to pay off the fantasy of being a steampunk inventor and tinkerer, and our weapon system is a major part of that. When you find a new weapon, it’s a major moment, and that’s because you will have that gun for the rest of the game.

When you upgrade your weapons at the weapon bench, you’ll have literally hundreds of different ways to customize them, depending on the kind of player you are. The whole experience really makes the weapon the star of the show. We also have a bunch of cool gadgets, which are essentially steampunky grenades and deployables, which, along with your time powers, round out your arsenal.

Thanks for the convenient segue! So, speaking of time powers, we won’t spoil everything, but let’s hear about some of what we showed off.

Chad: Your core time powers are useful both in and out of combat. For example, Slow can be used on enemies to temporarily slow them (and their bullets), helping you reduce a threat, but you can also use the same power on environmental objects to solve puzzles and avoid hazards. Reverse is the same way. You can rewind cover objects in case enemies destroy what you’re ducking behind, but it also allows you to unload on someone and then rip the bullets back out.

All of these things—gadgets, time powers, weapons, your stats, and even Prentice—are all part of larger, interwoven RPG systems and skill trees. So, they aren’t just an ‘unlock it and you’re done’ component, they’re all a part of the journey of leveling up and increasing your ability to deal with the Ironwood threat.

I think that’s a good spot to wrap this up with a big question: if you had to give just one reason for players to get excited about Clockwork Revolution, what is it?

Jason: It’s a game where your choices don’t just change the dialogue options, they reshape the entire world. You’ll go back, make decisions, and come back to see the effects all around you. That kind of reactivity is rare, and we’re pushing it as far as we possibly can.

Chad: For me, it’s the sheer depth. Every system—from conversations to world state to combat—feeds into player agency. The choices you make ripple across time, and the world remembers what you did. If you’re looking for an RPG that truly reacts to you, this is it.

Brian: It’s got everything we love putting into our RPGs—rich choices, consequences, dark humor—but this time, we’re doing it in a much bigger way. We’re not pulling punches. It’s bold, it’s reactive, and it’s all handcrafted by an incredibly talented team. You’re going to feel that in every moment.

Micah Whipple: Thank you, gentlemen!

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Clockwork Revolution is available to wishlist now and will be available in due time on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, Steam, cloud—and you can play it on day one with Game Pass. And with Xbox Play Anywhere, a single purchase lets you play on Xbox consoles and Xbox PC with full cross-saves – at no additional cost.

[This article originally appeared on Xbox Wire]