

Deathloop is a 60s-inspired pulp novel filled with bright colors, creative retro-future design, and comic book-like text that pops up on screen. That’s the ultimate joy of Deathloop - a dozen hours of scouting create a sleek 20-minute scheme.Īrkane has a blast building on that spy movie premise, and that’s most apparent in the game’s sense of style. Imagine if Hitman 3 tasked players with taking down all of its villains in one domino-like go. It’s an ingenious setup that puts as much of an emphasis on intel gathering as it does on actually executing a hit. The hook here is that players need to replay the same day as many times as it takes, digging up more information about each target and building a perfect murder scheme. That’s easier said than done, especially because Colt only has one day to pull off eight hits. After a quick introduction, Colt learns how to break the loop: he needs to assassinate the eight “visionaries” who created it. To make matters worse, that loop involves him being hunted down by Juliana, who seems pretty pissed by whatever past Colt did who knows how many loops ago. Colt, a very confused and reluctant hero, wakes up in the seaside town of Blackreef, and quickly discovers that he’s stuck reliving the same day over and over again.

It’s the latest entry in an emerging time-loop genre, which has become a bizarrely popular video game premise in recent years.

On paper, Deathloop can be a bit difficult to explain. The cycle never really ends, does it? Related Guides Though, a frustrating multiplayer mechanic and undercooked roguelite progression systems already have me thinking about how this game will inform an even tighter follow-up. Decades of trial and error come together in a well-executed package - though one that still leaves room for improvement.ĭeathloop is a stylish spy thriller that delivers excellent shooting, satisfying powers, and an enthralling mystery fueled by the game’s addictive Groundhog Day premise. Prey itself owes a debt to Arkane’s debut Arx Fatalis (and 1994’s System Shock, if we want to go beyond Arkane’s canon), making Deathloop feel like the culmination of several development loops.

It’s also a time-loop game where players relive the same day over and over again, calling back to the roguelite experiments in Prey’s Mooncrash expansion. It’s a first-person shooter that dishes out boisterous action and supernatural stealth in equal measure, ala Dishonored. The PS5 timed console exclusive draws a clear line through Arkane’s history. Deathloop – Official Gameplay Walkthrough | PS5
