Review: Deathloop is a mind-bending triumph you shouldn’t miss
Whether award-winning games like Dishonored 2 or criminally-underrated cult classics like 2017’s Prey, Arkane Studios has brought a ton to the immersive sim genre over the last decade. In 2021, the developer is back with a concept unlike any other: Deathloop, a “murder puzzler” set on the remote island of Blackreef, where a mysterious time loop resets daily. The game tasks protagonist, Colt, with figuring out how to kill eight different “Visionaries” in a single in-game day. Doing so will break the cycle of time loops.
Failing to accomplish this (or dying during the attempt) will lead to a reset. However, you can take advantage of these time loops by searching for clues and chasing leads, herding multiple Visionaries into one location, adding efficiency to your executions. As you progress through the game, you’ll also be hunted by a mysterious woman named Julianna, pushing back on efforts to end the loop. By default, Julianna is an AI enemy, but she can be controlled by other players if playing online.
Overall, Deathloop is, without a doubt, one of the most creative and unique immersive sims to date. And between the game’s stellar gameplay, immaculate level design, slick presentation, and comedic writing, it’s nothing short of a triumph.
Deathloop
The Good
- Fantastic gameplay
- Excellent level design
- Slick, stylish presentation
- Entertaining story and characters
The Bad
- Graphics don’t justify the required specs
- Minor performance issues
- No NVIDIA DLSS 2.0
Deathloop: The good stuff
Source: Windows Central
Category | Deathloop |
---|---|
Title | Deathloop |
Developer | Arkane Studios |
Publisher | Bethesda Softworks |
Genre | Immersive Sim |
Platforms | PC, PS5 |
Minimum Requirements | Windows 10, Intel Core i5-8400 @ 2.80GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600, 12GB RAM, NVIDIA GTX 1060 (6GB) or AMD Radeon RX 580 (8GB), DirectX Version 12 |
Game Size | 30GB |
Players | Single, Multiple (optional) |
Launch Date | September 14, 2021 |
Launch Price | $60 |
Deathloop’s level design is also stellar. Each level has a ton of different secrets, routes, and hidden pathways to discover, and depending on the time of day you visit them, new paths will open up that reveal previously hidden sub-areas. Each level is also built to accommodate whichever playstyle you prefer, with cover for intense gunfighting, and ample hiding spots for stealth.
Source: Windows Central
Deathloop is one of the most stylish games I’ve ever played, hands down.
I also came to love Deathloop’s presentation, which oozes charm and style. Blackreef’s ’60s-inspired retro-future aesthetic is slick, vibrant, and colorful, and in many ways, it feels symbolic of the ways in which the island’s residents abuse the time loop to engage in endless debauchery from dawn until dusk. Deathloop also features Arkane’s classic stylized visuals that fans have come to know and love over the years, and it fits Blackreef’s snazzy party-filled atmosphere perfectly. The soundtrack is fantastic, too; players can expect to hear everything from smooth guitar riffs to snazzy electronica as they go on their killing sprees.
Lastly, Deathloop’s story is well written, with lots of entertaining characters, twists, and jokes. Colt and Julianna constantly bicker throughout the story, and as you figure out how to efficiently kill the Visionaries, you’ll get opportunities to learn about their strange, disturbing, and comical personas. The dialogue was, in most cases, well voice-acted and enjoyable to listen to, although there were a few times where Colt and Julianna were talking so fast that it was hard to keep up.
Deathloop: The bad stuff
Source: Windows Central
The demanding requirements would be less frustrating if the game had NVIDIA DLSS 2.0 upscaling as an option, but it doesn’t; only AMD FSR is available to use, and while it does help a bit, it’s far less effective than DLSS. It’s disappointing that DLSS 2.0 isn’t here, as it means I (and many others) won’t be able to use ray-traced lighting with high settings without significant performance hits.
I also experienced a few notable performance issues throughout my playthrough on PC. The worst of these was a significant FPS drop down into the 20s that I couldn’t fix without restarting the game, although this only happened one time. The game also stuttered in some cases as I played through each level.
Deathloop: Should you play it?
Source: Windows Central
Deathloop is my favorite game in 2021 so far and it’s easily one of the best PC games available, and it’ll be exciting to see how the Julianna PvP invasions in online mode spice up the experience once the game publicly launches and I begin a second playthrough. Ultimately, Arkane has created something unique and special with Deathloop, and I can’t recommend it enough.
Deathloop is available for $60 on Windows PCs and PS5, and it’s expected to eventually launch on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in 2022 as well.
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