Deathloop Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Speedrunning Tips

Deathloop wants to throw would-be players for a loop—in the best way possible.  

The latest supernatural action and mystery effort from developer Arkane Studios exhibits plenty of the traits found in previous, beloved efforts like Dishonored and Prey.

It drops the player into the world of Blackreef, where they're stuck in a vicious timeloop and set loose. 

Deathloop, like other entries from Arkane, offers players a mind-boggling number of ways to tackle an objective. This time it's housed in the structure of a timed task—and other players from around the world can hop in to try to stop the player with force via some innovative multiplayer options. 

Innovative fun sums up Deathloop well, though two words can hardly do it justice.

Graphics and Gameplay

Veterans of Arkane games know the deal here—Deathloop isn't going for stunning realism. It leans more into the cartoon side and looks gorgeous for it. 

The game is one of the more colorful and detailed available. Colt, the protagonist, has details all over his attire, even early in the game. And each environment is stuffed with eye-catching objects. One early place features a library overflowing with books, pages and other details, while another boasts a variety of casino machines, snazzy carpets and artistic-looking lights. 

Color and lighting is a big part of Deathloop's immersive triumph. There's nothing uninteresting in the game to look at. Every corner of each area boasts colorful locales with superb lighting and shadow effects that really set the mood. 

The best part? The game knows it. Early on when Colt just wants to learn his name, he's walking around an environment sprawled with bright cursive writing across objects that mock his predicament and offer clues. 

Sound design is a big plus. The voice actors for the main characters nailed the parts, even if the writing at times is a little hammy (it's supposed to be). Weapons pack a punch, bones break, sci-fi gadgets pop and the music kicks up when things are at their most dramatic. 

Players can explore four big areas of the map, each at different times of day, to provide meaningful change. They're varied, distinct and packed with secrets worth uncovering. 

So much so, it's easy to get sidetracked exploring the world instead of engaging in the and story. It doesn't help that combat itself can feel stiff, especially when using guns—this isn't a Destiny or Call of Duty feel to the gunplay by any means. 

As with other Arkane games, players will get out of the gameplay what they put into it. Sure, Colt can slingshot over a building, sending a gadget off to deal with a group of bads on one side of an alley, while shooting another and landing to crack the neck of the last guy for big style points. 

But it's cool if players don't want to play that way. The game is still probably most when played as stealthily as possible. Players get a nailgun and perks to play in a sneaky manner. It's not hard to see how or when Colt might get discovered while in stealth, though it does shine a light on some old-feeling A.I. who might forget some of their friends are missing and go back to a normal routine. 

But even that's second to simple exploration thanks to the leads system. This is how players progress the story while stuck in a loop. Find a clue or "lead" and move up to the next one. A lead uncovered in one area at a time of day might lead to another one becoming available in a different area later that day. It's fun to go clue hunting, almost without worry about combat at all. 

The big goal, though, is breaking the loop. To do that, Colt must mow down big bads dubbed The Visionaries in a certain amount of time. He'll come across a whole host of weapons and gadgets that help him accomplish this feat. 

One of those is the memorable Strelak Sapper Charge that has three modes—grenade, proximity and tripwire. Also aboard for the ride is the Hackamajig, which lets Colt unlock doors and other items, plus create environmental distractions to break up guards and sneak past.

Players are eventually able to retain gear and carry it over to the next loop. It's satisfying to build one cycle atop the other, using the routes learned and secrets uncovered to do even better on a subsequent run after Colt's day starts over. 

The multiplayer wrinkle is a fun experience at times, too. Narratively speaking, Julianna is an antagonist whose goal is to stop Colt from breaking the loop. She'll "invade" Colt's loop, and her only objective is simple enough—kill him and preserve the loop. 

Playing as either Colt or Julianna is a quick and thrilling take on multiplayer action. The game and world was seemingly built for solo Colt-players only first, so at times it can feel overwhelming to suddenly have a human invader who doesn't match the tendencies of the A.I. But it's good fun and if it's not a player's favorite element, options provide an out. 

Players do have control over which Julianna invades and attacks. If set to singleplayer, it's just an A.I. There's also an option to leave the door wide open for anyone from the online realm to take up the role of attacker, or limit it to friends only. 

Besides the almost silly amount of player freedom and dense environments, Deathloop is an amazing experience largely because of the PlayStation 5's new vibration technology on the controller. It's maybe the best use of it we've seen yet, whether it's creative feedback during gunfights or rumbling while a radio message comes in over the controller's speaker. 

Story and More

Deathloop's saga is engrossing from the jump because it's a fun mystery, Colt is an endearing protagonist and it's so well intertwined with the actual gameplay. 

Colt wakes up to discover, alongside the player, that he's stuck in a timeloop where everyone knows more than he does, and he must break the loop. 

Colt is a player surrogate done well. He doesn't know what is going on (and boy does he let that be known) as the game picks up in media res. He washes up on a beach after his "death" and the narrative from there means plenty of good world-building to flesh out the narrative in a way that isn't overdone and obvious. He's learning as the player does, which makes it all the more fun. 

What follows is a great story with noteworthy payoffs and some memorable characters. If that sounds like a Dishonored romp, it pretty much is—on a next-gen system with a unique gameplay loop, for lack of a better term.

Players needn't worry about time constraints due to the nature of the story. There isn't an overarching clock always ticking in the player's face. Time technically only "passes" when Colt travels in the tunnels or dies. Otherwise, booting up a section of the island gives the player unlimited time to explore it without story ramifications. It's a nice workaround, provided players don't think too much about how it can break the immersion a bit. 

Where Deathloop struggles is with complexity and user-friendliness. There are tutorials, but the sheer amount of options for players to equip, level up and do leads to some intimidating menu systems. 

It's nice that a player's hand isn't held and they're turned loose in this big sandbox to have a blast. However, there's a steep learning curve thanks to a cluttered menu system. Complicated controls to juggle all of this, including dual-wielding, keep the curve steep. 

For example, weapons come in different colors. There are gray, blue, purple and gold rarity. The distinctions aren't just dressing, either. Gray guns can jam in the middle of combat, forcing the player to address the issue. Purple and above come with random perks. Gold are rare but worth finding. 

There are also Slabs that grant what one might call superpowers. One, for example, permits Colt to fling around enemies via something resembling a Force throw. And Trinkets modify guns or the player's character and come with one of three levels of rarity, such as additional perks for guns or Colt's abilities, such as jumping. 

As a blend of singleplayer and multiplayer, droves of cosmetics and the like make it into the experience as well. It's nice these don't impact gameplay, at least for now, and look good too, but it's another thing on the pile. 

None of which is to say Deathloop isn't fun. It's actually incredibly rewarding to push up the learning curve and reach a peak of competency that will provide players with a smirk as they unleash carnage in creative ways. 

It's a similar story for overall progress, not just how fluidly a player can make a string of kills or sneaky feats look. The leads system is a brilliant way to push a sense of ever-increasing progression while the narrative reaches for peaks of its own.

Speedrunning Tips

Like Dishonored games, the best way to get through Deathloop fast is to go fast. 

It sounds simple, but players attempting speedruns here won't post competitive times by waiting around and trying to get through things undetected and/or with perfect stealth. 

Luckily for would-be runners, the game gives players plenty of firepower and options pretty much right from the opening gun. It's not difficult to start mowing through the opposition that gets in the way with some practiced aim with the game's mechanics and understanding of the early powers available.

Colt doesn't have a ton of health that enables him to get into big firefights constantly, but smart engagements and proper use of cover and routing through levels means quickly getting to where the plot needs the player to go. 

As such, equipping the best possible weapons, damage-dealing perks and offensive and movement abilities for traversal is a must. There aren't a ton of big scenes or dialogues to skip, it's a simple matter of practicing routing through levels for memorization and efficiency purposes. 

There's a very high skill ceiling in Deathloop, which is what will make this such a big speedrunning hit via streaming. Watching a player take it down in quick and creative ways is sure to be a visual treat that encourages onlookers to join the fray, too.  

Conclusion

As bold as any release over the last two years or more, Deathloop is a fun romp through a beautiful world with characters to match. The marriage of narrative and gameplay strikes a balance most games can't match in a can't-put-it-down sort of way.

And as intimidating and overwhelming as Deathloop can be at times, it's refreshing to not have a player's hand held through every single little thing. There's no battle pass, endless tutorials and training-wheels segments. 

Deathloop is a good example of where next-generation games will really make headway—innovation. It doesn't feel like sheer visuals will boost much from here. But things like the PS5's rumble tech built into the controller, and this game's creative timeloop mechanic and blend of single and multiplayer represent where the next generation might make serious headway. 

And if that's the case, Deathloop sets quite a high bar. Or, a new loop that others will have to overcome.