TimeShift is a futuristic first-person shooter that has, as the title suggests, players manipulating the flow of time. The game's lead protagonist is Colonel Michael Swift, who wears a sophisticated outfit called the Quantum Suit that grants him his time-altering powers. The storyline has Swift trying to fix the global changes he unwittingly set off while working on behalf of the government, making him a hostile target of his former employers. While advancing through the game's exterior and interior environments, players can slow time in order to sneak past defenses, disarm enemies, and avoid traps. Time can also be stopped entirely or reversed, allowing players to solve puzzles and to overcome overwhelming odds.