PS5 Xbox Series X

Deathloop

ShooterAdventure

Time to beat: about 19 hours

Overview

Deathloop is a 2021 first-person shooter game developed by Arkane Lyon and published by Bethesda Softworks. The player controls Colt Vahn, an assassin who must escape a time loop by killing eight targets known as visionaries before midnight each day. The story is set on an island named Blackreef. Each day is divided into morning, noon, afternoon, and evening; and moving between the island's four districts causes time to advance. Using Colt's arsenal of gear and powers, the player must identify the optimal way to kill all targets in one day. As with Arkane's previous games, Deathloop is an immersive sim, with the game providing players a variety of ways to approach their objectives.

Development of Deathloop began in 2018, originally as a smaller-scale project that allowed Arkane to experiment with new gameplay mechanics. The game was built on Arkane's previous works, such as Dishonored, introducing nonlinear gameplay and removing the morality system, enabling players to take risks without considering narrative repercussions, as well as Prey: Mooncrash, which experimented with the roguelike formula and remix gameplay using a limited amount of assets. Arkane implemented asymmetrical multiplayer, an unused gameplay mechanic from its unreleased game The Crossing that enables a second player to control Julianna and hunt Colt. Films and television series like Groundhog Day and The Avengers inspired the story and aesthetics, while the Scottish Highlands and the Faroe Islands inspired the design of Blackreef.

Deathloop was released on 14 September 2021 for Windows PC and PlayStation 5, and for Xbox Series X and Series S on 20 September 2022. Although the story takes place in the Dishonored universe, Bethesda did not market it as a spin-off of that franchise because it has a distinct story and characters. Deathloop received generally positive reviews; critics praised its gameplay, structure, art direction, characters and story, but criticized its artificial intelligence. Many critics described Deathloop as original and regarded it as one of Arkane Studio's best games. It attracted more than five million players upon launch, and it was nominated for several end-of-year accolades, including Game of the Year at the Game Awards, D.I.C.E. Awards, and British Academy Games Awards.