When Deathloop was originally released, it never really caught my eye. I’ve always thought Arkane studios games are alright, but I’ve never been blown away by them. I think it’s mainly because I’ve never been a super big fan of stealth gameplay, but I can’t claim that they’re “bad” games because I have an issue with stealth and patience. Deathloop is one of their more recent games – and I think I like it the most.
The game takes place on an island in the 60’s. For some reason, there’s been an anomaly that makes it so the island is stuck in a 24h loop. Everyday it resets, and most people forget about what they experienced. Some gifted scientists and artists have taken refuge there, along with some random people wanting an escape from life – or death. You play as Colt, the head of security, and your goal is to break this loop and “free” everyone from this perpetual cycle. You could argue that “he might as well just leave” if he doesn’t want to partake, but his relationship with Julianna (the archivist) complicates things. On top of that, everyone on the island seems to be absolute psychos, so it’s difficult to actually sympathize with them.
Most of the lore in the game comes in the form of documents that you find across the island. I’m not a huge fan of this type of storytelling, and in this case I feel like there are too many documents that don’t really add anything aside from bloating the amount of things you can find. The way the documents are structured in the menu is also pretty bad, which makes it difficult to keep track of what you’ve found and done.
But aside from a poorly structured UI and a lack of diverse ways to tell the story and lore, I do think the game was very enjoyable. You have four areas of the island that you can explore, and every time you leave the time passes. You’ve got morning, noon, high noon and evening. All of them change something in each area, including the weather. It forces you to come up with a route in your head and plan accordingly to the goal you’re trying to achieve. Although the main missions were a bit “hand holdy” and easy, most of the side stuff require you to think and be creative. It’s not a perfect system, but I think it did a really good job at what it was trying to achieve. The fact that it allows you to take your time and explore once you’ve chosen an area and time of day makes it much more casual and less stressful compared to other games with a similar “loop niche”.
I’ve read reviews saying that they don’t enjoy how casual and “flat” it feels. Lack of enemy variety, and a lot of hand holding. But I don’t agree. Compared to other games in the genre it might be a more casual, but I believe that’s the point. It’s not Outer Wilds or Mooncrash and it doesn’t need to be. I don’t think the enemy variety was an issue, and I never got bored with the weapons and abilities I could play with. It’s a stress free experience, where unlike many other stealth games you’re not punished for playing the way you want. I do think there could have been more crazy modifiers to weapons and traits, a better way to sort information and objectives, as well as maybe one more enemy type (dogs…) – but I’d still say that it’s a good game that many who finds it interesting will enjoy.
The main objective is also the only time in the game where it holds your hand. It’s easy and many times you simply follow the marker on the map, but the real brain power is used when you try to complete the many side objectives. The game is riddled with extra content and secrets, and often the process of completing them is quite fun. Treasure hunts, parkour puzzles, quiz battles, riddles – many of which require you to use the time loop mechanic. You might visit an area in the morning, change something and then go back in the evening to complete the objective. You could argue that the rewards can be a bit lackluster though, but that goes back to my comment about wanting more crazy traits and weapons.
There’s also an online feature that allows other players to invade your game as Julianna. They pop in, try to kill you, and depending on who succeeds you’re rewarded quite handsomely. It’s very reminiscent of the invasion system in the Dark Souls games, and similarly it’s able to mess up your progress quite a bit. While maybe not as unforgiving as in the Souls games, it’s still quite hectic trying to survive knowing you’ve set stuff up in your loop that will reset if you die. I stood for minutes with my invisibility and rifle, just waiting for the other player to show their head. It was fun, scary, and arguably one of the better online experiences I’ve had.
So no, the game is not perfect. There are issues that I think Arkane could have addressed, but I don’t think they’re hefty enough to make the game “bad”. It was a fun experience, interesting and not too long. 8/10!