As the title screen loads in, the hum of the background is strangely familiar – reminiscent of a diner from many years ago. Two characters appear on screen, jumping into a fighting position and allowing the menu to be exposed. BREAK THE LOOP or PROTECT THE LOOP are the two options, although the Protect icon is greyed out for the time being.
As you select BREAK THE LOOP, the scene fades away into a loading screen: a snapshot of a cove or pier with a tint of the lens, making you suspect that this is in the early 80’s-90’s. You’re then dropped into the middle of a fight cutscene, where you are stabbed to death. The killer, seemingly frustrated at the length of time this is taking, appears vexed as to why you can’t remember. Suddenly, you are jolted awake, laying on a rocky surface with water in front of you. And thus begins the world of Deathloop.
The best way to describe Deathloop is a devilish hybrid of a reverse murder mystery and an endless Groundhog Day styled life. A first person shooter set on the island of Blackreef, players become Colt Vahn, an assassin with amnesia and badassery. The setting? 4 different main locations on an island: each housing their own gauntlet of nightmares to pass through. The objective? Eliminate all 8 bosses, known as Visionaries, in a day’s timeframe without dying. Sounds easy, right? Not so much.
Each day is split into 4 parts: Morning, Noon, Evening, and Night. Certain Visionaries are only active during certain times, and what you do during one period will affect the rest of the periods. Each Visionary is equipped with a Slab, granting them special powers that range from tying the health bars of enemies together, teleportation, invisibility, and telekinesis (among others). If you’re starting to feel a little worried, good. Enemies also have unlimited ammo, alarm/alert systems that tells all of them if you’re seen by a few, and if you die more than three times, you automatically jump back to the start of a new loop (erasing all of your hard-earned progress). Oh, and did I mention the insane amount of traps, gauntlets, and enemies you have to get through each round to find a Visionary?
However, not all is lost. One of the first Visionaries you meet, Wenjie Evans, has learned how to infuse objects with Residium, allowing them to be carried through time and through loops. By killing her and completing the Arsenal Lead [Ubiquity], you’ll gain the ability to harvest and infuse Residium into your weapons. Additionally, there are 4 Legendary Weapons within the game that are equipped with their own random special powers, such as a multi-range transforming shotgun, pistols that double up as an SMG, and more. The combination of helpful “writings on the walls” (more literal in this particular case) from past Colts and the objective marker make it easier to remember what to do, when to do it, and who needs it done to them. The final, best part – those Slabs mentioned earlier? You can take their powers as your own, up to two different ones each time period.
As for the controls? The left joystick is used for moving Colt, while the right joystick controls the camera. The A button allows you to jump, B to crouch or slide, X to interact with objects or reload, and Y to switch weapons. For combat, the right trigger fires your weapon, and the left trigger aims down sights. The right bumper is used for abilities, and the left bumper for grenades or gadgets. The D-pad navigates menus or switches between abilities and weapons, while the start button pauses the game and the select button opens the map or mission objectives.
Now, my personal thoughts on the game: This game is a huge steal. I’ve always been partial to murder mysteries and time travel games, so one that combines the two is always going to have a dear spot in my heart. The game developers did a wonderful job with the immersion of the game, as I only had to play through the first mission before I was heavily invested in ensuring Colt’s success. The soundtrack of the game was one of my favorite parts – both the attention to detail in the backing music and the incredible voice acting that went into every interaction.
Overall? The game focuses on complexity, instead of simplicity like many of its peers. Even though a large part of that is due to the intricate storyline and mechanics, it was refreshing to be able to focus solely on the gameplay and strategy, instead of also having to try and understand game layout/control schemes/etc. The music was intense and helped me concentrate on the game, but not so obstructive or annoying as to ruin the experience. And that’s the game! Deathloop is a must-play for fans of first-person shooters and immersive sims alike, managing to tread the fine line of being accessible to newbies and still interesting (especially with the tease of future updates) to those more versed in the style of gameplay.
