Deathloop Review (PS5)

Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong

Title: Deathloop
Developer: Arkane Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Genre: Action
Price: $59.99

---

Arkane Studios and Bethesda Softworks have outdone themselves with Deathloop. Featuring a likeable protagonist, a flexible, open map to explore, and a fast, fluid combat system, their latest offering brings to mind their earlier games in concept and mechanics – but presented better – make that much better – gameplay, style, and substance.

In Deathloop, you play as Colt Vahn, an amnesiac who finds himself stuck in the middle of the island of Blackreef with no clue as to what's happening. Caught in his own personal version of Groundhog Day, Colt is hunted by the island's residents, and a mysterious woman named Julianna who's holding a grudge against time. Trapped in an infinite loop of repeating the same day, and urged on by a consciousness he doesn't yet fully understand, Colt must somehow find a way to learn more about the island, and break the timeloop that has kept him trapped.

This means using Colt's extensive skills in order to learn more about the island. Many opponents stand in his way, but while Colt may have forgotten his memories, his instincts are still sharp. He can skulk, dodge, leap, and shoot with the best of them, and he has to if he means to find a way to break the loop. Colt is clearly experienced in the use of weapons, and the various guns Deathloop gives are satisfying to use. These range from silenced pistols and magnums, to stronger submachine guns and shotguns, all of which are capable of downing enemies with a few well-placed shots.

On the flipside, Deathloop requires Colt to operate under similar conditions – which is to say he shares this similar downside of being brought down by a few well-placed shots by otherwise inaccurate enemies. This turns gunplay into a satisfying, if frantic, mess of bullets and positioning. And while the game is pretty forgiving, with plenty of ammunition and health stations (and fiz-pop bottles) lying around, going head-first with guns blazing just isn't always the right way to solve your problems.

This is where the stealth elements of Deathloop comes to the fore. Taking from such notables in Arkane and Bethesda’s library as Prey and Dishonored, the game features a robust power system that helps you when you're sneaking about, letting you unlock upgrades not just for your character and his weapons, but also active abilities that you can leverage for use. Features like Invisibility and Blink are all essential when going on a stealth run, and these give so much depth when exploring the map, letting you explore places you normally would have trouble reaching. Your reward for this isn't just more ammo, but also more information, and you'll slowly start to unlock more information about the island and understand the motivations of its denizens.

At first glance, Deathloop’s gameplay might seem hampered by the fact that there are only four unique locations to explore, but there's a twist. Time passing slowly has an impact on what enemies you can face, what information you can glean, and even what side-quests you can take on. Certain events happen only during a certain time of the day, and, if you miss these, can change what happens later on in the same location. This means having to not only budget your time carefully, but also piece together the information you find, and even using what you know with what events you figure will happen.

This system is what allows Deathloop to present its story piecemeal, but without making the player feel lost. It's like a detective story coming together. You're slowly unravelling the relationships that keep the island stable, and carefully finding a way to leverage them to your advantage. While death may set you back, the information you gather in these runs is permanent and ingrained, and each little step you take is, in the final analysis, progress. In a lot of ways, it feels more like a rogue-like, where your advancement slowly ramps up as you learn more and more not just about the narrative, but about the events surrounding it.

It's this unique gameplay loop that makes Deathloop really shine. Not many games can really incorporate a system like this fluidly. Deathloop does, and exquisitely, managing to keep it interesting with its constantly evolving world and its dynamic gameplay. From how new information and side-quests can warp your decisions, to how principal antagonist Julianna Blake's ambushes can throw a monkey wrench into your plans, it's a game that thrives on both repetition and flexibility, and it's one that keeps itself entertaining from start to finish.

To be sure, Deathloop isn’t perfect. Gameplay bugs will, on occasion, creep up, with some of them highlighting shoddy enemy Artificial Intelligence. And then there are the random crashes that can soft-lock progress; one bug, for instance, kept happening in the same cutscene, only to solve itself after about an hour. Given the technical glitches, it’s just too bad the game doesn't let you save mid-mission. The good news is that Arkane and Bethesda continue to improve on the product, issuing patches as necessary.

In any case, Deathloop is an outstanding release. Featuring all the best of the best of Arkane and Bethesda’s collaborative efforts, it’s an action-packed title that provides no small measure of introspection as well. Highly recommended.

---

THE GOOD

• Unique and engaging in its singular mix of stealth and gunplay with puzzle and adventure elements
• Interesting twist of gameplay loop, requiring you to learn about your enemies and exploiting their weaknesses/quirks as you go through the same scenarios again and again
• Strong, interesting, multi-layered characters

THE BAD

• Bugs show up on occasion
• Some textures don't render well
• Sound can be a bit off at times

---

RATING: 9.5/10

---