So I’ve managed to beat Arkane Lyon’s first-person shooter Deathloop, and I’m feeling conflicted – the game is good, but the direction and lack of linearity aren’t. To put it bluntly, it’s a bit like a dry w–k – the enjoyment is only as great as your imagination; and there’s only so far your imagination can take you. So with that said, let me take a moment to explain to you my complex thoughts on this game. This post may contain one or two spoilers, but I’m sure that won’t matter, as the twelve people interested in the game have already seen everything there is to see.
Background
First revealed at Sony’s PS5 Announcement, Deathloop was one of the games showcased for Sony’s mammoth piece of kit; and one of the few games that piqued my interest; what was not to love? The aesthetic looked great with its homages to 70s French art, and the concept was simple yet exciting: you have 24hrs to kill 8 targets – there’s an infinite number of ways to do so; fantastic!
Developed by Arkane Lyon and published by Bethesda Softworks, it looked a massive step up from its spiritual predecessor, Dishonoured. And whilst it was in many ways it plays better than Dishounered, it couldn’t match it where it mattered most – the f——g story.
Impressions / Thoughts
The final product was half-baked. It feels like a multiplayer game with four maps bridged together by the occasional cutscene. You’re left to your own devices to progress the stories by finding clues [in any order] in the form of artefacts, emails, and audio notes, and it f—k me is that boring. It sounds dull to want Deathloop to be linear [or even hold your hand], but isn’t that the point of single-player video games? Playing it out in a sequence the same way you would when watching a film.
I understand the premise of this game is to make your own story, but an opportunity was missed to elevate this game and sell the other visionaries with a few fleshed-out cutscenes. Although there’s a tutorial disguised as the prologue explaining the game’s premise, it did f—k all to reel me in. Seriously what is there to dig about Juliana? It’s hard to get invested if you get thrown right into the fold (it’s not a personality trait to like Soulsbourne games…).
Yes, I get Colt suffers from amnesia, but I think it’s laziness from a story-telling perspective and utter bulls—t once you see the ending. Why do you remember all the clues and hints you pick up before starting a new day but completely forget yourself when you break the loop [and finish the story], inevitably leading back to where you started? It doesn’t make sense. The game’s lore is messy and confusing at best.
Even Colt’s relationship with Juliana is reduced mainly to short conversations at the start of some levels. Whilst the quips can be amusing, it feels half-baked, and that’s before you find out she’s Colt’s daughter! And what does the chauvinistic p—k do? He (I) only shot her in the noggin; there was no opportunity to develop that relationship. Did Arkane Lyon consider that if he was present and not getting ratted on absinthine, she might not want to kill him?
Don’t get me started on the ending. Maybe I’m feeling pressed because I felt undersold on experience – but I expected more meat on the bones in story-telling and art direction. Instead, I was served up an animated ending reminiscent of InFamous on PS3, which, two console generations later, is a massive f—–g cop-out.
Gameplay
But suppose we were to talk about pure gameplay. It sets the bar for what a first-person shooter on the ninth generation should be: it’s smooth and slick in how you traverse – guns feel unique to their type and perfectly utilises the PS5 controller’s haptic feedback features. The supernatural powers, also known as slabs, feel fantastic; for Arkane games fans, teleportation is better than ever!
Refined sums up the feel of Deathloop the best, which is a shame as had the story complemented it better, it would go down as a must-play for PlayStation. Instead, it’s now reduced to nothingness on PS Plus Extra and Xbox Game Pass. I have no desire to see a sequel. At this point, I’ve given up on chasing the Platinum Trophy as it’s so f——g menial. I may come back to it one day, but until then, I will explore some of Sony’s other offerings. Would I recommend it? Yes and no: yes, because there’s no other legitimate first-person shooters on PS5 [outside of Call of Duty] unless you can handle the survival horror stylings of Resident Evil Village; and no, because Sony have far better offerings overall, such as Ghost of Tsushima and Spider-Man Miles Morales – both available on PS Plus Extra; and no this is not an ad for PlayStation.
Don’t be afraid to tell me I’m talking shit via Twitter – @LordFissler
Peace.
