In Deathloop, the player takes on the role of Colt, an assassin stuck in a time loop who
has been tasked to take out eight targets called Visionaries across the
island before midnight, as leaving even one alive will cause the time
loop to reset and undo his work. Further, should Colt die before taking
out the eight targets, he will wake back up at the start of the
loop. The player uses a combination of stealth, parkour, attack skills,
shooter, gadgets, and powers as in Arkane's previous Dishonored and Prey games
to move about the game world. They must avoid or take out guards, learn
the patterns of Colt's targets, and to figure out the right order to
eliminate said targets using shooter, melee attacks, or other
environmental means.
The time loop in Deathloop is
not strictly timed and is aimed to give players more time and freedom
to take out these eight targets in one loop. Each day is divided into
four periods (Morning, Noon, Afternoon, and Evening), and moving between
the island's four districts (Updaam, Karl's Bay, Fristad Rock, and The
Complex) causes time to advance. The routines of the people in a
particular district vary depending on what time of day the player enters
it, and the player's actions in one district can affect the routines in
the others.
The
game features a multiplayer aspect in which the player can
alternatively take the role of Julianna, an agent tasked to protect the
time loop and take out Colt. When the player takes this role, they will
enter a random player's game and may interfere with their play. The
multiplayer portion is optional and players can prevent others from
taking on the role of Julianna in their game, instead leaving this to a
computer-controlled opponent to try to stop Colt.
Specifications
Key Features
Key Highlights
Deathloop is an investigative 1st person shooter. Focus is not entirely on combat, to beat the game you must throughly explore each of the 4 "levels" during each of the 4 time frames available (morning, noon, afternoon, and evening).
While exploring you will uncover clues about how to kill all of your targets in one day/loop and then you have to actually pull it off (the requirement for beating the game) The game allows for you to approach combat by either being stealthy or shooting at everything that moves while blowing up as much as possible.
When it comes to killing the main targets, similar options apply but they get more involved and interactive. So you could just shoot your way to a target and kill them with brute force OR you can set in motion a series of events that kills them without you ever even coming in contact with the target. An example of this wpuld be sabotage a firework factory so that it blows up when your target visits it.
I think the game strikes a perfect balance between combat, exploration and puzzle solving without to much hand holding and the freedom to accomplish your goals however you like. I definitely recommend you play this game!