What Time Commando is
Time Commando is a 1996 action game from Adeline Software. A deadly virus has infected a top secret military super computer, and its time-warping effects are spreading toward the computer systems of the world. If its memory is not restored in time, the virus will bring about the world's collapse. That sends you through the corridors of history to stop it, with vicious warriors waiting along the way.
The game runs through 9 worlds, each set in a different time and place: prehistoric, Roman, feudal Japan, Medieval, Conquistador, the Wild West, and the modern wars. Combat is the core of it, backed up by puzzle-solving sections between fights. Your arsenal spans a wide range: katanas, rifles, spells, and a technologically advanced combat yo-yo.
Playing it together
The game is tagged as singleplayer, so one person drives the action while the rest of the group watches and chimes in. Steam's Remote Play Together feature lets friends join in from their own machines, so the group can follow the run across the nine periods without everyone owning a copy. Treat it like a couch session: whoever is holding the controls picks the route through a world, works out the puzzles, and takes the fights, while the others call out what they see and argue over which weapon to bring to the next era.
Before you start
This release runs through DosBox, so expect the look and feel of a mid-90s DOS game rather than a modern rework. It is the European version, which means the introduction has no voice over. The store text also advises starting on easy mode, which is worth heeding given the challenge of the combat. The visuals are stylized and the gameplay shifts between world to world as your available weapons change, so the variety comes from adapting to each period rather than repeating one approach.