We last saw Deathloop at Bethesda’s E3 show in 2019. A lot has happened since then, including Microsoft actually buying Bethesda during this time. But far from the purchase disrupting the game titles, it appears that Deathloop is back on track to be released this year.
If you know zero deets about Deathloop then you’ve come to the right place because we’re going to break everything down for you! Deathloop is an action-adventure shooter being developed by Arkane Lyon, the studio behind Dishonored and Prey. The game is essentially a whole Groundhog Day/Palm Springs scenario where two assassins are forced to relive the same day over and over again. One of them is there to protect the loop, while the other is desperately trying to break it. If at first you don’t succeed… die, die again.
Here’s everything we know about Deathloop so far.
Update September 2021: New details about Deathloop have surfaced the month of the launch. So we’re updating this article! Get ready for it on September 14th on the PlayStation 5 and PC – Steam.
What Is Deathloop About?
Two deadly rivals trapped in an eternal kill cycle.
Colt is an assassin stuck in a loop of a single day on the island of Blackreef. He’s trapped in an eternal experiment on endless life unless he breaks the loop. The only way to do that is to kill the eight visionaries – the keepers of the loop. Kill them all in 24 hours before the loop resets and you’ll earn your freedom.
The eight Visionaries on Blackreef are working on the AEON Program, otherwise known as the project to chase eternal life. They can essentially live forever in this time loop and are enjoying themselves to their heart’s content. So in order to break the loop, you’re going to have to kill them. And it won’t be so easy because each of the Visionaries have superpowers and of course there’s Juliana.
Juliana is a Visionary and guardian of the loop. Unlike the rest of the anchors, she’s not there to party forever, she’s there to kill you. A fellow assassin, she’s the guardian of the loop and seems to take great pleasure in taking you down. As she says “I like killing you, not watching you die. There’s a difference”.
Side note if you’re wondering who Colt’s amazing voice actor is, it’s Dave Fennoy. He plays Lee Everett from Telltale’s The Walking Dead and Lucius Fox in Batman: The Telltale Series.
Deathloop Gameplay
You know the aim of the game – kill the 8 Visionaries. How, when and where you do it is up to you.
There’s a few elements of Deathloop that separate it from any normal FPS shooter. First, there are supernatural elements to contend with, Hitman-type puzzles for you to assassinate your targets with as well as a revolving story that continues to play whether you’re there or not.
Here’s all of the gameplay broken down by abilities and the overall world structure of the game.
Weapons & Supernatural Powers
There are plenty of weapons available in Deathloop and from the trailer, we can see shotguns, pistols, SMGs, sniper rifles and more outlandish technology as well. We saw Colt throw out some hand grenades, a deployable turret as well as a kind of hacking thing to reactive alarm systems.
If that’s not enough Colt and Juliana as well seem to be sporting some powerful special abilities that are not dissimilar to Dishonored.
Shift: Teleports you a short distance. Can be used to move quickly around the map. Cross gaps, scale buildings and get behind enemies quickly.
Nexus: Connects enemies so they can be killed or knocked out simultaneously.
Aether: Cloaking/Semi-Invisibility to enemies and turrets.
Masquerade: Enables you to assume any other form on theThis ability is unique to Julianna. Masquerade allows you to take the appearance of any character on the island, any of the NPCs.
Reprise: A short rewind that kicks in when you die, taking you back to where you were several seconds ago. It’s basically an extra life system. You only get to use Reprise twice, however, and any death after that restarts the loop.
Karnesis: Chuck enemies around telekinetic style.
Havoc: Stop bullets in the air, then turn them around and fling them back at enemies.
Each of the Visionaries will be carrying ‘slabs’, an item that houses their abilities. Grabbing the slabs for yourself will unlock their abilities for Colt to use. In the Deathloop gameplay trailer, we can spot a couple of abilities already.
The City Of Blackreef
The island of Blackreef is divided into four districts: The Complex, Updaam, Fristad Rock, and Karl’s Bay. Each of these areas is essentially four sandbox maps since each can be visited at four different times of the day – morning, noon, afternoon, and evening. NPCs will travel between these four locations depending on the time of the day, and your actions in one district can affect what happens in another.
Each district has its own story that plays out during the day, whether you’re there watching it or not. You’ll need to learn what parts of that you can influence in order to draw out your targets. You’ll need to learn what parts of the story you can influence in order to draw out your targets where you can deal with them. The districts are open so you can explore them however and whenever you want.
Each of the Visionaries in Deathloop has their own schedules and personalities, meaning you’ll need to study and work out the most efficient way to kill them. Some of them can only be tracked down at a certain time or in a certain part of the city. You’ll go about learning your target’s routines and uncover new pathways and opportunities each time you try to break out of the loop. As you get stronger and learn more, you’ll be able to determine how to end the cycle once and for all.