Deathloop

[Neon Ignition]

This has been a little bit of a curious journey so far with this game. Having not intended to pick it up I ended up doing so after the high scoring reviews came out and been a game that I've had several moments where I've teetered on feeling like my view on it will slip into something more negative but every time that it's about to happen Arkane has been one step ahead of me.

I'm playing it on PS5 and it's an interesting looking game. It's largely a decent looker, the art style is nice and it runs pretty smooth. I've had one play session on it where I experienced freezing, the game just completely locking up for 4 or 5 stretches lasting between 2 and 10 seconds but it's not happened on subsequent plays. It's not next-gen at all yet there's enough detail and scale that it still manages to impress. From a gameplay and design perspective it ebbs and flows quite a lot. There are times where it almost reeks of Dishonored and others where its own sense of self comes through stronger.

I did expect something a little more Hitman in design. The whole set up of hunting the 8 main bosses and then having to kill them in a single day put in my head something more like having to learn their routines over repeated days etc but in reality it's structure is less like that and a little more like Megaman. You can pick any of the four areas at four different times in the day but who you have access to is pre-set and they have no routine, your mission is just how to get to them and kill them. That gleams more information which points you to another preset time and location they're available so you can line up the targets in a linear mission to kill all eight.

In effect Deathloop is a linear single player game masquerading as an option title with player freedom. I've had a couple of players invade my game as Julianna as well, only one has managed to beat me so far and difficulty wise I'd say Deathloop is easy but it's also easy to die. Your health depletes fast in battles, tow or three hits can wipe out a full health bar, but unless you're running it's not that hard to stay alive either. Once you've spent ages reaching your target, if you are fully killed the whole day resets but mechanics exist to stop you losing key weapons and items and it progressively skips the opening section, a new attempt means you already know the route and it takes minutes to get back to where you were. I've defeated six of the eight so I reckon the 10 hour estimates are correct and I'm entering the late stages of the game now. Assuming the rest is the same as what I've played so far... is it a 10/10 amazing title?... No... like, I don't think it's going to stay in my mind for years to come as an all time classic for example but it is genuinely incredibly good. Just loosely pitching it against Psychonauts 2 (as both are now MS owned) as that had some praising it as a GOTY or GOTG title, this makes a mockery of the comparison as the design behind this is masterful. I imagine making the four areas work in a way that fits around the narrative, objectives, freedom of approaches, abilities and online invasions etc was staggeringly difficult and they've nailed it.

So, for a game that the trailers never massively won me over in the pre-release, hats off to the studio. It is good, damned good.

[nonny]

I'm not surprised to hear it's very linear given the complexities involved if it weren't...

Glad it's made a good first impression. I can imagine this is going to be a speed runners paradise.

[teddymeow]

I had forgotten that I had this on pre-order until it was too late to cancel.

I gave it a good 6 hours but just couldn't get into it.

It looks nice, runs as smooth as silk and is quite kitsch and funny in places but it isn't for me.

Deathloop has left the building in a padded envelope on the way to somebody else.

[fishbowlhead]

Nice impressions Neon. Certainly sounds like a good game but not one I’m going to rush out for right now. Going to clear some of my back catalogue first and pick it up later in the year.

[Neon Ignition]

I've called time on it now, I think a lot will come down to how much tolerance each person has for repetition and scouring the four levels. Whereas the first half of the game is like a building sensation of being impressed by the design of the game I found the second half undid a lot of that good will.

The issue is that there's a linear chain to the final mission. You need to know the locations, circumstances and timings for the key enemies and events in order to be able to tackle them all within a single in game day. This works out well until you get to the latter end where you make a play, sink in some time then find you've done something out of order or are still lacking a piece of information. Then you have to scour all the notes and mission logs for a hint of where to go, often there isn't one. Then scouring the levels for an age till you discover a small note somewhere that gives you some info, then restart the cycle, follow the chain, work out how that factors in to the day plan etc. Eventually you get around to trying again and continue repeating the same missions all over again till you hit another roadblock and start again. This isn't counting occasions where you're doing fine and then an invading Julianna causes you to lose your progress and have to start again etc.

The game quickly shifts from holding your hand too much to being too obscure. It just stops being fun, the part where you hunt the 8 main enemies and choose what order and how to get to them etc is the games finest hour. It would be better if each one killed stayed dead and that effected the next loop depending on the order you get them, instead it becomes a memory test and a chore.

A shame as there's a window where this comes close to being a really great game, refinement is needed for a sequel though

[Stakers]

Thanks for the impressions. I came on here expecting this title to have blown up the boards. I’ve been playing it on and off all weekend and loving every minute of it. I’m doing it wrong though as ive got nowhere near as far as you. I have been really just enjoying my time in the world, playing with all the different skills, weapons and approaches. I haven’t been exploring every nook and cranny but have just naturally fallen on the information and building my own plan. It seems such a shame that it all falls down at the end.
I only played Dishonored 1 for any length of time and half a level of 2 so the mechanics feel fresh.
At the moment I’ve been absolutely raving about it to everyone as this generations Bioshock. The world, lore and design has just really sunk it’s claws into me. Having come from barely playing Xbox one the last 3 years I feel like I’m in a golden era of gaming with the PS5 ( and PS4 back catalogue) I’ve tried and this one is right up there with the 70 hours on Demon Souls and 80 hours on Returnal for me, so far. 😢

[Lebowski]

Arkane are masters when it comes to lore and world building, in the past id attributed it mainly to Viktor Antonov, he was art director on Half life 2 and half life 2 the lost coast as well as Dishonored 1 and 2, hes not attached to this but the same world building and lore are all present here so its unfair to just credit one person when its obviously the amazing team at arkane that are responsible for this.

[Stakers]

Why isn’t this thread at least 5 pages long already?!! I got up at 6am to play it on Sunday before the kids got up!

[huxley]

Thank you for the impressions. Want to play this at some point. Gonna hold out for a price drop / sale.

[doodledude]

I'm really enjoying this one.
It's one of those games that I'm thinking of even when I'm not near my PS5.
Has that "one more go" addiction for me also once I unlock some more knowledge I want to see what effect that will do to another area/time of day.
One of my GOTY so far for me

[Stakers]

I've stopped playing quite so much as been quite busy and picked up Kena too but I still found myself putting this on last night and playing a couple of maps. Thats a really good sign for me because normally once its dropped, its dropped. I've found that I've kind of maxed out my gun and trinkets and not finding much reason to look for different ones but with the powers I'm switching up nearly every level. I am getting an idea of what will work best when I'm ready for a 'full run' though. No idea when that will be based on the information that I'm being drip fed.
I'm definitely doing something wrong though as probably close to 20 hours played already...

[doodledude]

One thing which is a shame for me is this way you are limited to only 2 powers in your load out. I would like to experiment more but I rely on always having aether and also shift as my 2nd power. When I do change shift for another power I end up regretting it as I wanted it for certain situations in a run!

[Lebowski]

It's so far been pretty mind bending i love the open nature of the world and the slowly evolving story, loving the lack of hand holding too, and the freedom to go anywhere you want. The lead system gives you plenty to explore and its a great world to explore too. Its an evolution of Dishonored and feels familiar at times but that's not a bad thing it has the same amazing world building but is unique and fresh thanks to the modern day settings and weapons. My only negative so far is it dose tend to bombard you with systems in its first few hours and it can be a tad overwhelming before you get to grips with it all.

The enemy's you fight feel challenging in groups so you really have to divide and conquer and the two bosses Ive beaten so far have been pretty interesting, The infusion system keeps that sense of progression going too, being able to save ability and weapons between runs helps keep you invested and it never feels like your wasting your time I'm looking at you Returnal. Speaking of Returnal its devs needs to take notes here on how to do a big budget story driven rouge like game, Arkane have hit the right balance of progression and managed to keep the story barreling forward and keep things interesting.

[QualityChimp]

OK, so not game-related, but I had a dream last night where I was trying to pitch a new porn film called ****loop.
"Instead of killing, it's ****ing"

Nobody really seemed interested in my pitch and got hung up on if you're shagging the same people every time to progress the plot.

There was no actual rudeness, before you ask, but I was disappointed that nobody was interested in my incredible idea - ****loop.

[Lebowski]

OK, so not game-related, but I had a dream last night where I was trying to pitch a new porn film called ****loop.
"Instead of killing, it's ****ing"

Nobody really seemed interested in my pitch and got hung up on if you're shagging the same people every time to progress the plot.

There was no actual rudeness, before you ask, but I was disappointed that nobody was interested in my incredible idea - ****loop.

this fits here

what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

i think you need to demote yourself as a moderator