This glossary collects the key in-world and in-system terms used throughout the Rewinding Cadence wiki. Where a translation differs between English-language sources and the official Chinese-language material, both are listed so the term can be tracked across mixed-language coverage. Each entry links to its dedicated article when one exists.
Story and World Terms
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
归环 (Guīhuán) | The Simplified Chinese title of the game; literally "the loop's return" or "returning through the loop." The English title is Rewinding Cadence. |
The player character. Drawn back through time to a point forty-two days before the world's destruction. The Simplified Chinese term is 归环者 (guīhuán-zhě). Also referred to as the Recursor in the official tagline. | |
Recursor | Alternate English title for the Returner, taken from the official tagline: "The Recursor shall overturn the prophecy of the Sunblight Tide, but the end is already written." |
The mysterious humanoid spirit who contracts with the Returner and grants the time-rewind power. Battles alongside the Returner as their fixed spirit companion. | |
The doomsday prophecy at the center of the story. Also rendered as the Corroding Tide in some early translations. The Simplified Chinese term is 蚀阳潮 (shí-yáng-cháo). | |
Corroding Tide | Alternate English translation of the Sunblight Tide; the wiki uses Sunblight Tide as the canonical English name to match the official tagline. |
42-Day Cycle | The fixed-length window of in-fiction time the Returner has each loop before the world ends. Resets when the player rewinds. |
System Terms
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
The 42-day repeating cycle that resets most of the world while preserving the Returner's memory, certain bonds, and cultivation progress. | |
Rewind | The player- or story-triggered reset that takes the calendar back to day one. Granted by Chu's contract. |
The dialogue-side mechanic. A 20-sided die roll plus stat modifiers determines whether a high-stakes choice succeeds or fails. | |
A bonded battle partner. Each playable character is paired with one spirit; the protagonist is paired with Chu, others with animal-form spirits. | |
Spirit Cultivation | The progression system that levels up spirit companions. Cultivation progress persists across the time loop. |
The world's reaction layer for player aggression in populated areas. Higher heat brings stronger faction response and blocked services for the remainder of the cycle. | |
Pair Attack | A coordinated combo activation that pulls the spirit companion into a cinematic flourish. The duo unit's high-damage tool. |
Game-Info Terms
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
The Tencent-affiliated developer of Rewinding Cadence. Also developing Fate Trigger: The Novita. | |
The first PC closed beta, internal name 首测. Ran in mainland China from March 30 to April 14, 2026. | |
Account opt-in for upcoming beta and launch invitations. Currently live on Chinese-region Android storefronts. | |
The acquisition model used for characters. Specific rates and pity rules have not been published in detail. |
Translation and Naming Notes
Several terms in Rewinding Cadence have multiple translations floating around English-language coverage. The wiki's house style is to use the term that the developer's official English-language material uses, and to note the alternate translation in-line so older articles or fan coverage that used the alternate are still searchable. Where the developer has not published an English term yet, the wiki uses a literal translation of the Chinese-language source and flags it as provisional. As the official global landing page expands, this glossary will be updated to match.