Ever since Keanu Reeves stunned millions with his slow-motion, computer-generated stunts in The Matrix, people dreamed about having the power to slow down time. Whether it was literally or mentally, having godlike reaction time has become enmeshed in popular culture. This power has become known as "bullet time."
Besides motivating countless people to do their best Reeves-inspired limbo, bullet time has inspired one of the most fun and cinematic video game mechanics. Whether the game used it to help a player's avatar gun down waves of enemies or grapple with a vicious boss, bullet time permeated nearly all genres of gaming. This mechanic granted players the precious seconds necessary to change the pace of their game, and deal with the obstacle before them.
Updates September 7, 2023 by Angelo Delos Trinos: Even years after The Matrix faded away from the mainstream zeitgeist, bullet time as a concept continues to persist and thrive. Games with bullet time have come a long way, and are now more than just clones of The Matrix. This list was updated to add more games with bullet time.
20 The Max Payne Trilogy
The Matrix spawned several video game adaptations but, ironically, none of them have been as innovative or as vital to defining games with bullet time as the Max Payne trilogy. These games glorified the action one expected from a franchise with zero subtlety, hence the name Max Payne.
Surrounding the titular cop turned hero of the night, Max Payne allowed players to take on hordes of drug dealers and gang members in extreme shootouts. Bullet time significantly enhanced the series' iconic cinematic and action-packed gameplay. After slowing time, Max can dive into any set piece with the panache of the most boisterous action movie hero.
19 Fallout 3
Before Todd Howard worked on the iconic Fallout franchise, it was an asymmetric, turn-based game. Each turn, players could choose which enemy and what specific body part to shoot at. Fallout 3 was the series' initial foray into first-person, open-world action, and the game integrated a similar combat system to the first few entries.
With the disappointing Fallout 3’s Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.), players could cinematically slow down time and methodically pick individual body parts to target. This mechanic was much more than a callback or gimmick. V.A.T.S. has now engrained itself as a staple of modern Fallout titles, including Fallout 4 and Fallout 76.
18 Tony Hawk's Underground 2
The Tony Hawk games didn't have guns or any kind of violence, but that didn't stop them from being games with bullet time. Starting with Tony Hawk's Underground 2, players received the ability to "Focus." This slowed the world around the player, giving them more time to perform a stunt or score more points.
Focus became such a staple of the Tony Hawk games that every succeeding entry had a variation of it. This non-violent take on bullet time complimented the Tony Hawk games' very '90s and 2000s style, and extreme sports aesthetic. It's only one of the many reasons Tony Hawk's Underground 2 remains a beloved sports game.
17 Burnout 3: Takedown
The entire appeal and selling point of the Burnout games was to race cool cars and crash them in the most cinematic ways possible. Originally, Burnout's epic crashes were just bonus cut scenes. Burnout 3: Takedown upped the previous games' already explosive ante by letting players dictate the vehicular carnage with "Aftertouch."
When activated, Aftertouch let drivers move their car within the slowed down reality of Impact Time. Aftertouch could be combined with other abilities to maximize the level of destruction the player caused. Even if it had no guns, Burnout 3: Takedown was still a highly influential and fun game with bullet time from the 2000s.
16 The Red Dead Series
Rockstar Studios, the creators behind Max Payne and Grand Theft Auto, used a version of the bullet time mechanic in several games. With the release of their Western-themed Red Dead franchise, they tweaked this ability specifically for their open-world Wild West adventure, dubbing it "Dead Eye."
Starting with Red Dead Revolver, skillful gameplay — like accurate and critical shots — built up a player's Dead Eye meter. Filling this meter allowed players to slow down time and target enemies for a flurry of quick shots. This cowboy version of bullet time has only improved as the series has continued. Red Dead Redemption and its sequel provided countless Western adventurers with some intense and exhilarating cowboy shootouts.
15 John Woo
If there's anyone more famous for slow-motion gun fights than The Matrix directors, the Wachowskis, it was Hong Kong auteur John Woo. The action movie icon was responsible for some of the most stylish cinematic action movies ever, like Face/Off and Hard Target. In the mid-2000s, Woo switched art forms, collaborating with Midway Games to make the video game, Stranglehold.
Stranglehold was a direct sequel to Woo's landmark action movie (and slow-mo side-diving pioneer) Hard Boiled. The game continued Investigator "Tequila" Yeun's journey to spend as many bullets as possible. Given Woo's involvement, it was no surprise that the game incorporated some classic bullet time elements to complement Woo's idiosyncratic directing style.
14 Bayonetta
Bayonetta rarely found herself in the middle of gunfights. Still, her franchise incorporated a form of bullet time, making Platinum Games' iconic melee combat all the more rewarding and exciting.
In Bayonetta, activating "Witch Time" allows Bayonetta and the Umbra Witches to slow down enemies within their immediate vicinity. Similarly, players can use this power to speed enemies up to unleash rapid, vicious attacks. This ability was gratifying within the Bayonetta franchise, but immensely frustrating to play against in the Super Smash Bros. games.
13 Mirror's Edge
While combat and gunplay are crucial factors within DICE's Mirror's Edge franchise, they're not a priority. Mirror's Edge focuses on speed and parkour. Faith Connors was a courier responsible for efficiently delivering messages to and from rebels within a dystopian police state. These deliveries often put her at odds with the authorities.
As Faith, players were best suited to avoid enemies in most instances. This tilt toward avoiding direct conflict was the impetus behind Faith's incredible ability to dash and jump through elaborate city skylines. The game encouraged players to continue their uninterrupted marathons and reach top speed, even in the face of gunfire. Doing so unlocked "Reaction Time," which slowed down Faith's world and helped her fight and disarm enemies with relative ease.
12 TimeShift
There are many video games about time travel, but few of them properly use this concept for their combat. Such misuse isn't the case for TimeShift, where time travel permeates every facet of the game. This extends from its story to its style and how players take on enemies.
Using a special mech suit, TimeShift players can stop, slow down, and even reverse time to best suit their needs in combat. Correspondingly, users can either avoid attacks, get better angles on enemies, or even steal people's weapons. Despite its age, the game’s mastery of this mechanic makes TimeShift a forgotten gem.
11 Vanquish
Platinum Games has a way of making stylish and appealing gameplay that favors players at any skill level. It doesn't matter if someone was new, a long-time gamer who hasn't engaged with Platinum, or someone who has played their games for over 1,000 hours; the studio’s games were simply fun to play and replay.
Even in a time when video games and anime were rife with mech suits, Platinum Games still stood out with Vanquish. In Vanquish, users could activate bullet time (or AR Mode) when in the middle of melee fighting or sliding across the ground. This usability made AR Mode more than just a cinematic mechanic; it was a satisfying way to segue between action while accentuating combos.
10 F.E.A.R.
Despite being a horror game, F.E.A.R. tried to buff up the player to motivate them to engage in action. In the game, the user controlled a member of the "First Encounter Assault Recon (FEAR)," whose next assignment was the franchise's primary villain, Paxton Fettel. Tackling supernatural threats may seem foolhardy, but the members of F.E.A.R. were equipped with incredible powers to help them deal with these threats.
These abilities, especially Slow-Motion, allowed players to both slow down and shoot at faster rates. Through this slow-mo, users can give themselves a cushion of time to crowd control hordes of enemies in a horror game that could otherwise overwhelm the unprepared.
9 My Friend Pedro
At first glance, My Friend Pedro was just another indie platformer. Such games have been so commonplace in the indie market since the 2010s that they've become something of a punchline. However, My Friend Pedro set itself apart from the rest of its contemporaries by being a hilariously violent, side-scrolling game with bullet time.
Unlike other games where bullet time was a special ability that could only be activated a few times per level, My Friend Pedro's gameplay was all about bullet time. Players could leap through the air, shoot multiple enemies, dodge bullets, and basically live out their wildest action movie dreams just seconds into My Friend Pedro.
8 SUPERHOT
There are few better examples in gaming, let alone any other medium, that capture slow motion in a gratifying and perpetually exciting fashion, such as SUPERHOT. In SUPERHOT, bullet time wasn't just a skill or power-up; it's how time functioned in the game. The world, enemies, and gunfire slowed down when the player stops moving, and game speed resumes at typical rates once they pick up the controller again.
These mechanics might seem like they'd make the game ridiculously easy, but SUPERHOT masterfully used its enemy placement and setting to overwhelm players with information and decisions. Bullet time in SUPERHOT doesn't empower users. Instead, it encourages them to think more critically about how they shoot, slash, or dash through levels. It's as much a puzzle game as an FPS.
7 Katana Zero
Given the name "bullet time," it made sense that most games with time-slowing mechanics would be first- or third-person shooters. Still, not every game with bullet time centered on gunplay. Katana Zero, a side-scrolling slash-em-up, was an excellent example of this deviation from the norm.
In Katana Zero, players controlled a samurai assassin struggling to remember their past. Able to control time, they can even peer into the future, but these characteristics weren't simply for aesthetic reasons. In Katana Zero, the titular hitman killed enemies in one slash, but can only take one bullet himself. Slowing down time to dodge bullets doesn’t just feel cool; it's necessary to make it out alive.
6 Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Besides starring Raiden, one of the biggest ways that Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance differentiated itself from the rest of the Metal Gear Solid franchise was by focusing on sword-based combat. To make the now cyborg Raiden look even cooler, Revengeance gave him Blade Mode, which was basically bullet time for katanas.
Blade Mode let Raiden slice enemies in specific ways. This let players score multiple points on a single enemy grunt, and land epic finishing blows on the bosses. As a game with bullet time, but for swords, Revengeance stood out from the rest of the self-serious and methodical Metal Gear Solid games in the best ways possible.
5 Horizon Zero Down
From Guerrilla Games, Horizon Zero Dawn marked a significant shift from the studio's flagship title, the Killzone series. Horizon Zero Dawn threw players into a beautiful, post-apocalyptic, open-world game filled with gigantic animalistic robots. As Aloy, users spent much of their time hunting these robots for their parts.
Aloy's main weapon of choice was her bow. Wielding this bow, players can slow down time through several mechanics, making it easier to hit a moving target. In the certified PlayStation classic Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy can enter this "arrow time" by charging her bow, sliding, jumping, or while horseback riding.
4 Sniper Elite 5
The Sniper Elite franchise has delighted users with its high-quality, satisfyingly gory use of bullet time since its second entry in 2012. The World War II-based series differed from other shooters in its genre and games with bullet time by emphasizing stealth and strategy over direct shoot-em-up skirmishes. The Sniper Elite formula was perfected by Sniper Elite 5.
Sniper Elite 5 rewarded players for utilizing their sniping skills via a slow-motion, X-ray kill cam that displays the full effects of a successful shot. This feature showed an anatomically accurate X-ray of the bullet's impact on the target's body, as it ripped through muscle, bone, and/or organs. It was a deliciously grisly bonus for players who took their time to line up the perfect kill.
3 Painkiller
Painkiller was an old-school FPS in the best ways. People Can Fly's shooter gave players a vast selection of guns, and an endless horde of enemies to slaughter. One way Painkiller improved the classic shooter formula was by adding its Tarot Card system, which gave players useful abilities. One of these was the slow-motion Haste.
When Haste was activated, time slowed down to where players could take their time shooting targets. This ability was useful in boss fights, as it let players fire multiple rounds and switch guns in the span of a few seconds. Painkiller flew under the radar in its prime, but it's since become a classic game with bullet time.
2 Viewtiful Joe
Initially released for the GameCube, the currently unavailable Viewtiful Joe was a side-scrolling action game with vibrant cartoon graphics. While it's now almost 20 years old, the game features one of the most entertaining uses of bullet time. Already a skilled martial artist, Joe enhanced these talents through supernatural abilities called "VFX Powers."
For fans of bullet time, the most relevant VFX Power in Viewtiful Joe was the "Slow" ability. Using Slow, players can dodge enemy attacks, access areas they otherwise couldn't, or ensure they hit their target. Plus, what separated Joe's Slow from other games with bullet time was the ability to combine it with other powers.
1 Quantum Break
After introducing bullet time to generations of gamers via the first two Max Payne entries, Remedy Studios upped the ante with their 2016 release, Quantum Break. It was the studio's first major release since 2010's Alan Wake, and one of the first Xbox One exclusives. Quantum Break delivered excellent time-manipulating action, which fans of previous Remedy games desired.
In Quantum Break, players assumed the role of Jack Joyce, who gained the power to bend time following a time travel experiment gone wrong. How these powers manifested differentiates Quantum Break from other games with bullet time. As Jack, players can freeze enemies or even bullets in a wave of time, slow time while aiming, or use many other time-manipulating actions.