In 1932, during the night of the Summer Solstice, heiress Tess Conway, while attempting to use a mystical Ancient Egyptian Water-Clock which purportedly grants eternal life, vanished, along with many of her society friends.

The player's objective is to find, and destroy, the Water-Clock, and discover the secrets of the estate, all while beating back the many horrors that now occupy the island from beyond the grave.

An unusual aspect of the game is that live action full-motion video characters overlap with the real time gameplay, without breaking to cutscenes.

These include a crowbar, dual-pistols, a shotgun, a Thompson submachine gun (Tommy-gun), Molotov cocktails, a flamethrower, and a magical Ankh which can be used to wipe out many enemies at a time.

To beat the game one must collect a number of vases spread throughout Matinicus Isle, each containing a symbolic part of Tess Conway's spirit.

The ancient "Water-Clock of Thoth" had been discovered by his Egyptology professor, Dr. Hargrove, but the artifact went missing soon after a visit by the expedition's patron, Tess Conway.

The 3DO version was started under the working title of "Zombie Xanadu", a first person maze game inspired by Agatha Christie,[7] utilizing its own custom ZX engine that allowed seamless streaming of map data.

In 1996 Acclaim Entertainment acquired the rights to release three Studio 3DO games for the PlayStation, Saturn, and PC, including Killing Time.

Critics for both Next Generation and GamePro praised the fast game engine and combination of intense first-person shooting with brain-stimulating adventure elements.

"[19] GameSpot concluded that the PC version was a "breath of very fresh air", due "largely to a thoughtful design interweaving setting and story with healthy doses of gunplay and gore.