With Deathloop, the developers are dare of Arcane Studios, known by Dishonored and Prey, to their first (and because of the purchase by Microsoft probably last) PS5 Exclusive. Instead of masked assassin and shape-changing aliens, Deathloop focuses on a mysterious time loop and a simple order: Kill these eight people and break the loop. What soundes simple, turns out to be a demanding, but also extremely motivating carving hunt, which is best part of what the French team has set up the legs.
The biggest PS5 experiment so far
First of all, said: Deathloop is experimentally. Even if it is, of course - as seen in the trailers - a lot about stealth, weapons and cool sayings goes, the naming time loop is the focus. And that does not only provide the retrofuturistic setting, but also ensures a rousing narrative, as I have not seen them in games of this magnitude yet. Who knows Indie titles like Minit or The Sexy Brutal, has a small lead, for everyone else it is also about understanding how Deathloop works.
We hatch in the role of the leather jacket wearing Colt, which awakens a morning on the beach of the Nordic island of Blackreef. With a lot of memory loss in the bag, we will be confronted right at the beginning with the hard facts. On this island there is a deliberately triggered time strip, it is up to us to break and we have no idea how to do it. Oh, and a certain Julianna looks at us after life. A busy morning.
That we are thrown in the cold water here can initially overwhelm. For as Deathloop will run in the next 20 to 30 hours of playtime, it is not yet shown at the beginning. With a few guided tutorial loops, which lead us into a rough direction, this initial confusion also quickly dissolves in pleasure. Then it becomes clear what Deathloop is actually: a fun and bloody to-do list with time management flair.
Washing laundry, buy milk, killing eGor
In order to break the loop in Deathloop, we have to switch off the eight visionary within a time loop, the leader of the so-called AON project. EONE is a mix of research group, end-time shares and party crowd, which has settled on Blackreef, to enjoy eternal life - and the time namomalia on the island is of course perfect. Whos these people are where they are staying and how we approached them, that's what it is important to find out.
For this purpose, Deathloop is divided into areas: four different places at four different times of day - so 16 different levels. So when we want to be where, we can decide for yourself to look for all sorts of clues as we move closer to the big goal. This can be the hobby one of the visionaries or a suspicious detail of their daily planning. Gradually, these instructions can be assembled into a clear picture. This in turn leads to a plan that only needs to be executed specifically.
Changing world: In Deathloop, there are only four different locations, which can change radically through the different day periods. Let's get more guards on the way, sometimes freshly fallen snow lies - even the opponents themselves help with graffiti in the course of the day.
Here is the example of the coastal town of Fri's city Rock:
None of it runs in real time, instead, Deathloop missions are divided into small bands. Once we are on site, we can all leave the world all the time. We put our goals yourself - do we want to examine the warehouses in the morning in the Karlsbucht? Or are we looking past the big party in the evening, which is celebrated in Updaam? The search for and combine clues is the core business in Deathloop and that makes a lot of fun. Any still small information is relevant.
Not only that the instructions and numerical codes we find, well clearly held in the menus, we can approach the history of the island, the visionaries, time loop and all other interesting aspects in our own pace. Deathloop is anything but linear, even if there is the right way to break the loop. The way there is individually and underlines the playful freedom, which Deathloop has otherwise written to the chest.
The Deathloop's campaign answers the most important, but not all questions about the mysterious time loop - which ensures motivation even away from the story to explore the world, to find answers and to the secrets to come to the scrutice.
In the core, Deathloop is still a shooter
Once we decided at which time we want to be in a certain place, Arcane Studios trumps with the usual strengths. As far as the pure gameplay is concerned, Deathloop presents itself as a stealth-lastic shooter, where we can resort to a variety of superstile skills to get to our goal. We sneak past guards, turn off from behind or chop the gun on the corner so it automatically attacks our enemies.
With so-called tablets, which we can lose weight of the visionary, Colt can teleport, for example, short distances, to make invisible or become the berserker, which divides as well as he can plug in. Experimenting with the skills and the ability to drop opponents ensures varied battles, which are not boring themselves themselves. Deathloop is also a really strong shooter without time loop.
Who wants, may also drive the Rambo course and put on raw weapon violence - the correspondingly powerful humming there is always. However, in the first day hours, this is not recommended because we only start with a low-sustained UZI. Although the opponent Ki is not the smartest, but here clearly predominates experimenting with the skills and approaches. As efficiently and stylish the missions can be concluded, motivates me more than club-hard shootouts.
Better weapons, we can lose opponents or find them hidden in the game world - with the hook that we lose them as soon as the loop starts from the front. The latter happens when we complete the evening or die three times in a row, two times we will be revived thanks to Colts special ability.
But do not worry: There is a way to permanently unlock weapons and take into the next loop.
This must be found so-called residium. A resource we receive both by switching off opponents and visionaries as well as by collecting flickering objects. In addition, we can already sacrifice already collected equipment, thereby obtaining a certain amount of residium. Each weapon and every skill board (which we also lose after each loop) must be charged with a certain amount of residium so that it can withstand the time loop.
The idea behind it is great, because gradually we can build an arsenal of equipment, which makes us powerful with every loop. Also Perks for Colt and the weapons can be unlocked on this way. Unfortunately, the balance is not quite right here: Weapons of the highest rarity level are almost pushed behind us and the Perks are already abundant. Really with weaker weapons, we never have to go.
The fire huts in action can you see in the Launch Trailer at Deathloop:
The perfect world for exploring
What Deathloop is particularly well succeeding in this is the open level design of the four playable areas. No matter where we are taking us on our current mission, there are usually two or three different ways to get to our goal. There are no forced paths whose resistors we have to overcome when we want to progress. Anyone who takes time and explores the environment is rewarded for this. Either with an open window or just with a hidden vault that can contain important documents or audio logs, the instructions. Deathloop is trumping right here.
For example, there is a large library in the middle of UPDAAM, from which we know due to clues that in the morning, a lot of high quality equipment is stored in the morning. But she is also guarded as well. We can decide: either we enter them through the entrance hall and put us directly with the opponents or we come through the back door, chop the alarm and turn off the workforce behind. Or we teleport us from roof to roof and climb directly into the fourth floor, where the great shotgun is stowed.
The more often we explore the four areas, and that inevitably happens several times, the more paths and possibilities reveal to us. Especially later in the later course, the boarding in even most dangerous headquarters can almost become routine through the knowledge advantage. One way to counter this routine are the irregular overflow by Julianna. Also very firm, as far as weapons seems, Julianna seems to be constantly at the Kieker and to prevent us to break the loop.
As soon as it occurs, our escape routes from the current level are blocked by an antenna we need to chop. By contrast, Julianna hunting hunting for us, making the previous game dynamics on the head. We were still the Stealth superstar, who knows exactly where the opponents are just staying, we are now the prey and seek the rooftops nervous to locate our hunter. This adrenaline rush belonged to the highlights for me in my time with Deathloop.
What about the multiplayer? In addition to the classic singleplayer campaign from Deathloop, developers also installed an optional and somewhat experimental multiplayer. This allows other players inside, namely, when Julianna penetrates into our missions and hunt for us. On the other hand, we can also become a troublemaker and come up with in foreign scores. It is released to us if we attacked friends or blinds. If you want to stay for yourself, you can also issue the feature.
The idea behind the multiplayer is interesting: Julianna, like Colt, has a series of weapons, perks and panels that give her skills. In addition, thanks to the craft masquerade, it can accept the appearance of a standard opponent - perfect to accomplish unnoticed or undergo in the crowd. With the fulfilling certain masterpieces , such as survive as urgent three minutes, we rise in the hunter rank and thus clear new weapons and equipment.
Fun makes the multiplayer in both directions. On the one hand, it is exciting than Julianna ignoring unmolested opponents to pick up the level to Colt and then ideally to put a trap. On the other hand, it is a lot of packing, if not a ki hunting on us, but another person who makes much smarter and more planned. Either way, there are new challenges here that enrich the gameplay. The fact that we also unlock Colt skins for the single player is an additional incentive.
The disadvantage: Some conditions have to be fulfilled so that we can even penetrate another score. The multiplayer works only from some story progress, only in missions in which visionary are present and of course only if the selected victim is also online. In anonymous attacks this is still going, but the invasion of friends does that probably run usually beyond an appointment. Nevertheless, fun, but the surprise effect is then of course.
Technically clean and stylish
The special atmosphere of Deathloop lives primarily from the stylish style design. With a focus on the colorful pop culture of the 60s, Colts Eskapades bring the impression of classic espionage films à la James Bond - with a small Scifi twist. The Rauen coasts of Blackreef alternate with the swinging sixties extravagant fashion trends - technically clean presented in jerky 60 fps, dynamic 4k scaling and on request also with raytracing. In the latter, however, a frame rate of 30 fps must be accepted.
Also very successful is the integration of the dualSense controller. The simulated by the haptic feedback not only a unique feeling for each of the weapons in the game, including substrates and opponent presence can be experienced by the vibrations. If we are traveling with ordinary weapons, it may also happen that the R2 trigger is blocked and we can not shoot - a nice idea that unfortunately suffers from that we only with the crème de la crème of Deathloop weapons within a very short time on the way.
successful experiment
Deathloop has a fascinating game concept. Any concern that the time loop is too bulky or too superficially installed, has dissolved in pleasure for me. When the tough entry came first, the (entertaining) action-packed shooter attitude turns out to be a pretext to send us as a detective into the game world. The urge to explore every angle and learn more about the gripping story is not only demolished in my game run.
Even after the last loop, Deathloop is still attracting with tempting side tasks, sealed doors and uncrossless safes. Even after the credits talk to my colleague Jonas, I learned that I could have done one of the main missions even on a completely different way. I had no idea, although I kept conscientiously looked for clues. This tip is now the same time to put into action.
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