Celebrate The 25th Anniversary Of Reservoir Dogs With A New Video Game

Step aside, Apocalypse Now, you are no longer the most unexpected film-to-video game conversion of 2017. To honor the 25th anniversary of Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut, Big Star Games is making Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days, and while many film-to-game adaptations end up being, well, lacking (and that includes the first Reservoir Dogs game, which came out in 2006), the new Reservoir Dogs looks like it might be kind of... good?

Or interesting, at least. If you've seen Reservoir Dogs, you know that the movie's plot is told out of order, revealing the events surrounding a botched diamond heist by jumping between the past and the future (the heist itself is never shown). In order to capture the spirit of Reservoir Dogs' non-linear narrative, Big Star has developed a system that it calls Time Back, which turns every level into a sort of flashback.

In Bloody Days, players send three of Reservoir Dogs' fast-talking gangsters on a job. The player controls all three characters, but not at once. Instead, the first character goes in and shoots things up (or dies). Those actions are recorded. Next, the player takes over the second character and plays, while the first character repeats his previously executed actions. When the third character dives in, the first wo go about their business, as previously determined. You can change the past while playing, too—if a character dies during his run, the next gangster can take out his killer before the murder occurs, saving his comrade's life.

"By taking control of different characters for overlapping bursts of time, players must utilize the strengths of each squad member to carry out the game's missions, with every move and shot creating a butterfly effect on the overall outcome," Big Star CEO Liam Patton says in a press release. "We're very focused on creating a highly addictive experience that stays true to the tense, dramatic vibe of this unforgettable movie."

While Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days' announce trailer doesn't show the Time Back mechanic in action, it does offer other hints as to how the game plays. From the looks of things, Reservoir Dogs will be a top-down shooter somewhat reminiscent of Hotline Miami. True to the source material, the game is very, very bloody.