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Watch trailer on Steam ↗Apocalypse Approaches
ideo ame · Published by ideo ame · Official site ↗
Last updated 8 Oct 2026
Apocalypse Approaches is a time-travelling top-down roguelike where time is your health. Battle through procedurally generated dungeons and defeat enemies to regain lost time. Upgrade your kit with cogs, manipulate time, and survive as the clock constantly ticks down.
Action, Indie · More free games
Navigate through procedurally generated levels, battling enemies and collecting cogs to regain lost time. In Apocalypse Approaches, every moment counts as you fight against the relentless passage of time.
About this game
Summary
Apocalypse Approaches is a fast-paced top-down roguelike where time is your health. Battle through procedurally generated dungeons and defeat enemies to regain lost time. Upgrade your kit with cogs, manipulate time, and survive as the clock constantly ticks down.
Game Features
Time-limit - Every loop has 1 minute of limited time, and each moment drains it. Take damage? Lose more time. Run out of time? Game over. The only escape of Armageddon is to loop back.
Time-based combat - Defeat enemies to gain back lost time. Outpace damage taken with damage dealt for ultimate success! Every second can mean the difference between survival and defeat.
Time manipulation - Use the power of Flow Time to slow down time itself and gain the upper hand in combat. Act quickly to avoid the effects of Time Dilation speeding up your loop!
Time-based items - Equip cogs, granting special abilities and enhancing your moveset, altering the way you can respond to the clock.
Fast decision making - Will you spend time looking for upgrades to aid your journey, or move straight for the exit?
Procedural dungeon generation - Each run is a new and different challenge, as the world changes between each loop.
Meta Progression - A mysterious substance can help further resist the time loop's reset. Use this currency well to bolster your future runs!
The Citadel - At the beginning of each loop, find brief respite in the town with the townsfolk. Help them, and maybe they can help you!
Explore the world
Each loop is met with a uniquely twisted and destroyed landscape. With several distinct areas to brave, each more perilous than the last, you'll find new enemies, challenges, and mysteries to solve. You must navigate them all in order to find the end. Run out of time in one, and find yourself returning to the beginning of another.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- OS: Windows 10
Recommended
- OS: Windows 10
Supported Languages
Latest news
Patch NotesOfficial
Alpha 4.1 Has Released
Patch NotesThe Tutorial & CitadelAdded a new cutscene in the tutorial with the seerUpdated all dialogue to better reflect our updated narrative design intentionsUpdated the positions of all NPCs in town to better guide the player in how to progressFixed a bug causing dialogue variables to not properly reset when pressing "New Game" after having already pressed continue before exiting the game.Other ChangesReverted a change on Time Orbs & Gold Pickups, they now drop on the floor and stay there when in an encounter again. When an encounter completes, and outside locked rooms, they auto-gravitate to the player.Shop popups now use the gold icon instead of the word "gold" in listed pricesFixed main-menu visual bugsFixed main-menu crash associated with flow-timeRead full article on Community Announcements (Olatiny)AnnouncementsOfficial
Apocalypse Approaches Alpha 4.0 has been released!
Apocalypse Approaches Alpha 4.0 has been released!Apocalypse Approaches had the pleasure of showcasing Alpha 4.0 early to people at GodotCon, an awesome event we hope to return to. Now, you can download the latest update to the demo we showcased there for free on Steam! This version contains new features, visuals, and audio, as well as many adjustments to balance & a new take on the overclocking mechanic. Tension Turned to Time DilationSince Alpha 3.0, we've been experimenting with systems that would allow the player to manipulate time and how that could affect their build direction. Players would experience the effect of time speeding up and slowing down by way of Overclocking (for speed-up) and Flow Time (for slow-down). We really liked flow time, but found that the trade of overclocking per cog doesn't scale well with a full run. To solve this, we've removed Tension Capacity from the game and exchanged that for Time Dilation.Now, the longer you spend on a floor, the more time accelerates (indicated on the clock). If you think you can survive a faster clock, stay on a level and get as many cogs as you can find! If it becomes too stressful, though, move on to the next level and reset the time dilation penalty. Combat with Chaos SealsIn Alpha 4.0, you'll now notice that all room exits have a new visual on top of them with a number on them. Those are called "Chaos Seals"! Chaos seals count down the number of enemies you are expected to kill before the room unlocks and you can continue exploration. This means some rooms will allow you to leave before killing all enemies!There are many fun twists to gameplay this change introduces, not the least of which is the ability to leave enemies behind to kill later. Perhaps you'll want to keep them alive at low health so you can safely backtrack as the clock accelerates? Or alternatively, you may want to get out of a room before it claims even more precious seconds from your only minute. The choice is yours!Level Generation Imp...Read full article on Community Announcements (Olatiny)AnnouncementsOfficial
Apocalypse Approaches Alpha 3.0 has been released!
Apocalypse Approaches Alpha 3.0 has been released!You can download the latest update to the demo for free on Steam! This version contains the newest features, including a new movement tool called Blink, more Cogs, and permanent upgrades that persist between runs. 1-Minute ClockIn version Alpha 2.0 and prior, the Clock could go up to a maximum of 3 minutes. From playtesting, we found that players who gained enough time would feel safe and stop worrying about the clock. We want our players to always be thinking about the clock and constantly fighting to keep it from running out, so we've decided to lower the maximum time to 1 minute. Also, this means that you’re perpetually in the last minute before the end of the world!Dodge Roll is now Blink!As development for Apocalypse Approaches has progressed, we have found that a fast-paced & high-octane gameplay is preferred over slower and more methodical, decision-focused combat. Our dodge roll was a bit too slow for that kind of gameplay, so the roll has been replaced with a quick dash called Blink.In addition to being faster, Blink also deals damage to enemies that you pass through, and you can upgrade its damage, range, and effects using SOUL cogs!Spells have become Cantrip!In version Alpha 2.0, you could find and equip up to two spells from chests and shops, which you could swap out at any time. However, we found that once a player gains spells they like, any other spell pickups that spawn become useless.In Alpha 3.0, we've decided to replace spells with Cantrip, a basic projectile that you can upgrade with MIND cogs. Instead of needing to swap between spells, you can stack a bunch of different effects on the same Cantrip!Introducing Entropy UpgradesDuring a run, you can collect mysterious orbs known as Entropy. By speaking to the Grandfather Guru in the Citadel, you can gain permanent upgrades that persist between runs! Flow TimeFlow Time is a special state you can enter that will slow down time, slowing the Clock and e...Read full article on Community Announcements (Olatiny)AnnouncementsOfficial
Gearing Up: Alpha 2.0 Out Now!
Good News, Everyone! Alpha 2.0 has just released!If you have not already, be sure to download the latest update to the demo from steam. It's completely free, and gives you a great first look at our newest features and direction for the game. Introducing Subdials!Subdials are special items you can now find in a run. They act as smaller clocks that can run alongside your primary clock. Each of them has a special ability that is active while the subdial is running. So, be careful when you activate your subdials, managing these time pools properly is key to performing well in a run!As a general rule of thumb, subdials have 3 Themes: Body, Mind, and Soul. These themes target certain playstyles and buff certain stats. Introducing Cogs!Cogs are small items you can equip to your character to increase their strength and unlock new abilities. You have a maximum amount of "Cog Slots" you can equip to, referred to as Tension in-game. However, you can actually exceed that maximum... for a cost, of course.Introducing Overclocking!An all-new mechanic that refers to increasing the base speed of the player's main Clock. Overclock is increased by two methods:By equipping cogs beyond your maximum Tension. By activating multiple subdials at once.So, if you think you can keep up with a faster clock, then maybe just one more cog will be worth it for your build. Or, if you need a quick burst of damage, perhaps activating all of your subdials at once will be worth-while as well. All tools for you to find the best usage of in your own runs!Introducing The Citadel!The brand new starting hub you enter between runs. Uncover the mystery of the Citadel of Ankerrad, and the people within it. Perhaps you can learn something from them that will benefit you in your quest to end the apocalypse!New Enemies, Boss, and Environments to explore!We've also introduced a few new enemies, a new boss, an extended first area, and added other improvements overall to that experience. Try for yourself to see how m...Read full article on Community Announcements (Olatiny)AnnouncementsOfficial
Apocalypse Approaches Alpha 1.1 - Out Now!
Setting(s) Up Version alpha 1.1 is here, and with it a big helping of quality-of-life changes to all parts of the game! It seems like just 3 minutes ago we launched Apocalypse Approaches on Steam, and we’re thrilled at all the amazing feedback we’ve been receiving. The game is changing every day, but we’d like to give a big thank you to all our early-bird testers, past and present, for being a part of that metamorphosis! At any rate, here are the broad-strokes patch notes this time around Visual Changed timer visuals and other HUD elements to be more readable Added dynamic button prompts for controls Improved combat VFX and made dealing/receiving damage more obvious {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45537411/0d9f1fdb3ed9ec07bed217c255300a3b1939b93f.gif Gameplay Increased max level of all modifiers to V Time is now paused in shops Added Tutorial section to the first run Removed dual-wielding: only one weapon can now be held at a time Accordingly, improved the quality of dropped weapons Spells are now cast by holding down the “focus” key and attacking as normal Added descriptive tooltips to weapon upgrades and shop items Modified intro dialogue and fixed controller navigation bugs Fixed bug involving stackable, infinite Big Laser {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45537411/cb769897fd58bee59cec00bdc2997bff79190743.gif User Interface Player controls are now rebindable on both keyboard and controller Added a pause menu to runs Added a settings menu with some visual, gameplay, and audio options Improved controller navigation, as well as UI selection visuals {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45537411/83a7a9682e0ea09e80cf5331dfb4e8498920bd92.gif Players expect this sort of user settings stuff by default, so it’s great having it all (mostly) out of the way so we can set our sights on developing the world, setting, and combat feel of Apocalypse Approaches. We hope you’re as excited as we are to get your hands on the next patch, and many more to come! Cheers, ideo ameRead full article on Community Announcements (Olatiny)
