Six university students forming the indie team Clockwork Cat have officially launched their debut title “Time Snatcher Handy”, a time-stopping bullet-hell roguelike, on Steam and STOVE with publishing support from CometSoft.
“Don’t Dodge the Bullets — Stop Them”
At its core, Time Snatcher Handy reinterprets the fundamental premise of a bullet-hell shooter.
Instead of squeezing through suffocating curtains of projectiles, players rely on the power to freeze time and carve out a safer path. This time-stopping mechanic transforms overwhelming bullet patterns into strategic puzzles.
Players take on the role of Handy, a phantom-thief cat who steals a mysterious clock hand from the Museum of Time. With this artifact, Handy can pause time, slip between deadly projectiles, ambush guards, and ultimately escape the museum.
A Resource of Its Own: Time
In Time Snatcher Handy, time is a consumable resource—and the centerpiece of its strategy.
- Pausing time drains Handy’s time gauge.
- Purchasing items costs time.
- Taking enemy damage reduces the time even further.
- Defeated guards drop stolen time, allowing players to recover.
A variety of items—such as accelerated time flow or meteor-summoning abilities—can help or hinder players depending on how they’re used. By combining these items, players can shape their own unique builds, whether opting for bold, high-risk play or safer, methodical runs.
The result is a sleek roguelike structure built around a single resource that dictates every decision.
Gaining Attention Across Korean Indie Festivals
Before release, Time Snatcher Handy gathered attention at several major indie events, including Smilegate Future Lab’s Burning Beaver festival and the Busan Indie Connect Festival (BIC).
Showcase attendees praised its clean pixel-art aesthetic, cohesive sound design, and its clever “clock-face telegraph system,” which displays incoming attack angles to help minimize resource waste. Many noted that the time-stopping mechanic added a tactical feel rarely seen in bullet-hell titles.
Launch Promotion and Indie Live Expo Appearance
Time Snatcher Handy is available now on Steam and STOVE for a launch-discount price of 9,900 KRW during the first two weeks. An official soundtrack is also available, and a discounted game + OST bundle is being offered at 14,310 KRW for the same promotional period.
The game will also be featured during the INDIE Live Expo on November 29, one of the largest indie game broadcast showcases in Asia. The broadcast airs simultaneously in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and English, with Time Snatcher Handy appearing in the INDIE Waves segment for global indie audiences.
[Team Profile] Aesthetics of the Bizarre and Beautiful: Team Clockwork Cat
Team Clockwork Cat is a boutique indie development team consisting of a core group of artists and designers. They have carved out a unique niche in the Korean indie scene by blending ” 정교함” (precision of a clockwork mechanism) with “신비로움” (the mystery of a cat). The team is best known for its 2D hand-drawn art style, which often features intricate line work, muted palettes with striking accent colors, and a surreal, melancholic atmosphere.
Key Information & Details
| Category | Details |
| Team Name | Clockwork Cat (시계태엽고양이) |
| Headquarters | South Korea |
| Core Lead | Myocat (묘캣) (Art Director / Representative) |
| Primary Genre | Mystery Adventure, Narrative-driven Puzzle, Dark Fantasy |
| Key Identity | Gothic Aesthetics, Psychological Storytelling, Detailed Pen Illustration |
| Official X (Twitter) | @ClockworkCat_G |
