Developer: Arkane Studios
Publisher: Bethesda
Release Date: 14th September 2021
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series & PC
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
▫️ Code provided by the publisher ▫️
Ever since Deathloop was first announced back at E3 2019, it has been topping my most anticipated list. I am a huge fan of the Dishonored series, having platinumed all three entries on two separate accounts. The level design and player autonomy that Arkane Studios created throughout the whalepunk trilogy is to this day one of the best examples of a stealth sandbox, alongside IO Interactive’s Hitman.
So when I settled down to play Deathloop for the first time and quickly realised that it was very much the core Dishonored gameplay, I was delighted. While it isn’t recommended to go full ninja, as there are so many fun ways of tackling each objective, I was happy to see my concerns of a more tactical approach not being possible quickly put to bed. Snapped necks and knife executions are easily triggered with the touch of the R1 button as long as you haven’t been spotted as you stalk your prey.
Disposing of the bodies is a thing of the past as thanks to the time loop aspect, these enemies just turn to dust, awaiting the day to reset. A small pocket of smoke remains on the ground though, which enemies can spot and become agitated about. This results in you having to be mindful of not only how you kill, but where you do it. Little touches like these add more layers to the formula and keep you on your toes throughout.
What also keeps you on your toes is the lack of a manual save. In Dishonored I would make many a manual save, which allowed me to test out routes and possible creative kills with no real consequence. The nature of Deathloop doesn’t allow that though, and so while you will pick up a slab (power) called reprise, allowing you to die three times before the day restarts, there is no undo when you accidentally alert half the island to your whereabouts. Thankfully, Colt is pretty nimble and escaping the enemies, regrouping and returning with a better plan is a viable option.
While melee combat was certainly possible in Dishonored, it is definitely more encouraged in Arkane’s new venture. There are plenty of weapons to hack and gun your way through enemies, but do beware that it doesn’t take much to put Colt down. Thankfully there are health canisters and even health pods dotted around the map to balance this out. Julianna can invade your game at any point, which adds tension, but you do have the ability to switch the game to offline so that she remains controlled by the games AI and not some 11-year-old elite assassin.
Deathloop also has a really intriguing narrative. You start your journey with antagonist Julianna on top of you plunging a knife into your chest. From here you wake up on a beach, unable to even remember basic late 90’s Yahoo Chat staples like a/s/l (age/sex/location for today’s youth). Slowly the situation on the island is explained to Colt, mostly via radio conversations with Julianna. These interactions are expertly voice acted and really bring a sense of immersion to the events unfolding.
Without going into too much detail and venturing into spoiler territory, you (Colt), are trying to break the loop. In order to do so, you need to kill all 8 visionaries in one day. However, the rest of the island inhabitants aren’t on board with this and will shoot on sight. None more so than Julianna herself, a rival assassin. Each loop has four distinct times. Morning, noon, afternoon and night. Each location changes depending on the time you visit it, so plenty of detective work is required to find the most opportune time to eliminate your targets.
While an area may seem relatively uneventful in the morning, you could return at night to find an event taking place where multiple visionaries are there for the taking. Another plus is that you are never on the clock. You enter an area at a chosen time and can remain there for as long as you want. It is only when you return to your hideout and select a different region that the next time period of the day will activate. All information you collect is stored and can be accessed later, providing new objectives that help guide you, should you find yourself at a loss. This leads to Deathloop being a little more linear than I had expected going in, but the game certainly doesn’t suffer as a result.
While the game presents itself as a bit of a roguelike, it really isn’t. Your location will reset each day, or if you die three times, but early on you gain access to a mechanic where you can spend points gained throughout your run into infusing weapons and upgrades, allowing you to keep them permanently. The loop itself is much more of a vehicle to facilitate the story than to add to the difficulty and the game absolutely benefits from this.
Powers also make the transition from the Dishonored series. These are acquired by collecting slabs from the corresponding visionary. Beware though, if you want to keep this power you will need to infuse the slab, otherwise, once the loop begins again you will be forced to re-kill said visionary. Old favourites return like the ability to teleport short distances and tether enemies together.
Graphically the world is beautiful as well. While this may not hit the heights of Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man: Miles Morales or others, the colour palette and 1960’s aesthetic really do create one of the most stylish games I have ever played. So much detail work has gone into the world and it shows that sometimes a smaller overall map that is more densely packed and well-realised can be the optimal way to go.
Audio design is not something I often talk too much about, but it absolutely necessitates a mention here. As I said earlier the back and forth between Colt and Julianna is excellent. That is complemented by a great soundtrack that when quietly exploring can sound nostalgically like Goldeneye, but bursts into a more intense beat as soon as you are spotted and the action is about to kick off.
The Dualsense controller does a superb job of adding some extra immersion. By default, communications with Julianna will be played through the controller’s speaker, along with subtle sounds of your gun reloading, items being activated and more. When walking, the left and right sides of the Dualsense independently vibrate lightly. If you fire a gun with your right hand you will not only feel resistance on the right trigger, but only the right side of the controller vibrates. It doesn’t reach Astro’s Playroom levels of immersion, but it is one of the best efforts we have seen to date.
Deathloop also features an online aspect, where you can play as Julianna and try to protect the loop by invading other players games. Here you can disguise yourself as anyone on the map and manipulate the game world, moving traps around and tagging Colt so that visionaries and other enemies are aware of his presence. In this mode you can level up and gain new unlocks for future invasions. This isn’t how I personally like to play these games, but I was impressed with how well implemented it was.
-Craig🧐
Due to time constraints before launch, this review was a collaboration between myself and one of my friends. John your help is appreciated as always.