Deathloop review

Our Verdict

Deathloop makes the most of its artistic fourth dimension loop mechanics and tight gameplay, but the repetition can wear sparse after a while.

For

Innovative premise
Tight shooting and stealth
Something new in every run

Against

Repetition sets in later on a while
More punishing than it needs to be
Stability issues

Tom's Guide Verdict

Deathloop makes the virtually of its artistic time loop mechanics and tight gameplay, but the repetition can article of clothing sparse subsequently a while.

Pros

+
Innovative premise
+
Tight shooting and stealth
+
Something new in every run

Cons

-
Repetition sets in after a while
-
More than punishing than it needs to be
-
Stability problems

Deathloop is easily the most ambitious game that Arkane Studios has ever developed. Whether it'due south Arkane's best game, on the other hand, depends on what you want out of the experience. Dissimilar Arkane'southward Dishonored serial, Deathloop isn't a demanding stealth game set in a lovingly crafted fantasy world. Instead, information technology'due south a fast-paced, innovative and sometimes messy shooter prepare in a fourth dimension loop on a remote northern isle in the existent world. It's also unlike whatsoever other large-upkeep game that's come out this year.

The premise of Deathloop is deceptively simple. Amnesiac gunman Colt is trapped in a day-long time loop, hounded by an assassin named Julianna. To break the loop, he needs to defeat Julianna and vii other major enemies, chosen Visionaries, in a single day. That means he'll go through the loop over again and once more, uncovering the secrets of the mysterious Blackreef Island, collecting gear and upgrades, and gunning down a whole lot of cannon fodder enemies who get in his way.

It's easy to adore Deathloop for its creative premise, tight gameplay and interactive story. As the game goes on, withal, it'south likewise easy to see the cracks around the edges — namely repetitive runs, punishing encounters and performance problems. Still, on the whole, Deathloop is a jiff of fresh air in a sea of same-y game ideas, and that lonely makes it worth checking out. Read on for our full Deathloop review.

Deathloop review: Gameplay

While Deathloop is a complex game, the core concept is amazingly unproblematic: kill eight bosses in a unmarried run. Of form, simple doesn't necessarily mean "like shooting fish in a barrel," equally Deathloop gives you a ton of tools at your disposal to accomplish this.

You play as Filly: a man who has no retentivity of his by, relieve that he'due south patently been hunted (and killed) over and over again past a curt-tempered woman named Julianna. Each time Colt dies, he reawakens on a beach on Blackreef Island: a remote scientific outpost that looks similar it came out of a '60s spy thriller. Filly learns that Blackreef Island is stuck reliving the same day again and again, but that only he and Julianna retain their memories betwixt each iteration. Eight brilliant "Visionaries" maintain the fourth dimension loop, and killing them all in the same twenty-four hours is the merely way to cease the cycle.

Arkane calls Deathloop a "murder puzzle," and afterward your starting time few runs, you lot'll see why. While Deathloop is, at its cadre, a first-person shooter/stealth game, the construction is more interesting than the moment-to-moment gameplay. Blackreef Island has iv explorable districts, and iv singled-out times of day. Each time you leave a commune, time advances.

As such, information technology'southward not possible to simply run up to every Visionary, guns blazing, and break the time loop in a unmarried go. Instead, you'll have to thoroughly investigate each district, at each time of day, looking for clues virtually how the Visionaries spend their time, and — about importantly — when they get together. How you tackle them is ultimately up to you lot, whether information technology's via open combat, stealth or some kind of ironic, contextual punishment. (That chemical element from Arkane'southward Dishonored series is withal present, at least.)

Deathloop does a fantastic job of giving you lot only enough information to get y'all started, and then letting you explore the big, detailed levels for yourself. For example: One visionary, a game designer named Charlie, sequesters himself away in a mount fortress that doubles as a live-action roleplaying game. The game simply tells yous where the fortress is. It'due south upward to you to find a path through the enemy-laden streets, so decide whether to blast your fashion through the sci-fi-themed game, or take the long way around and unearth hidden entrances as you lot go. Once yous figure out Charlie'southward schedule, yous can attempt to acceleration him to earn new gear, or you can leave him in peace and reserve your resources for some other run. Deathloop's open-concluded design treads a perfect line between "hand-holding" and "aimless."

Deathloop review: Combat and multiplayer

In terms of gameplay, Deathloop is a bit more action-packed than Dishonored, just a lot of the same DNA is present. You can notwithstanding hunker and sneak, dispatching some enemies silently and fugitive others entirely. However, this time around, you can as well utilise a whole arsenal of guns, from high-caliber sniper rifles to rapid-firing auto pistols. Each gun has a rarity level, and some have special abilities; you generally become the best ones from killing the Visionaries.

As in Dishonored, yous tin also equip various trinkets to bolster your abilities (more health, quieter sneaking, etc.) and your weapons (larger magazines, faster reloads, etc.). You lot tin also outfit yourself with special powers that the Visionaries drop upon defeat, from brusque-range teleportation to tossing enemies effectually similar ragdolls. The powers help streamline the game a lot, and provide a satisfying reason to confront Visionaries over and over, equally they can also drop upgrades. An piece of cake-to-earn resources called Rest lets y'all go on your favorite weapons, trinkets and abilities as you repeat the loop.

While Deathloop's construction and mechanics make the game compulsively playable for a while, however, your advancement slows down considerably over fourth dimension. During your first trip through an surface area, y'all'll find clues, unlockable paths and globe-building collectibles left and right. Every bit you start to play the aforementioned areas over and over, however (and you volition have to do this quite a bit), it all starts to feel a picayune rote.

You'll have to fight the aforementioned enemies, in the same places, redoing the same puzzles and collecting the same equipment. This tin experience especially punishing on paths with a lot of unavoidable enemies, or when trying to consummate objectives that crave absolute, unbroken stealth. Having to trudge all the way to the exit and restart the process from scratch is tiresome once, and admittedly exhausting by the fourth or 5th time.

It'south likewise worth mentioning Deathloop's creative multiplayer mode, in which you take control of Julianna and invade other players' games. Doing so helps yous earn cosmetics for both Julianna and Colt. It's a creative take on PvP combat, and can create some intense, unexpected firefights. Information technology'due south besides totally optional, even so. You can set your game to "friends-only" invasions, which means you'll confront off merely confronting people you know. Or y'all tin prepare your game to single-player fashion, which pits you against a computer-controlled Julianna.

Deathloop review: Story

The very first thing y'all'll see in Deathloop is a beautiful assassin plunging a machete into your chest and acting as though the whole sordid thing is somehow your fault. It's kind of unsettling and kind of funny, which is pretty much the tone you tin expect from the rest of the game.

What works best about Deathloop's story is just how organically information technology emerges. There aren't any long cutscenes to sit through, and y'all don't demand to hunt downwards every slice of optional lore to get the full story. You'll piece together Deathloop's narrative at your ain pace as yous meet the Visionaries, track their movements and learn about how they relate to i another. At that place's no special gild y'all have to do this in, which means yous'll probably learn a little more nigh the plot with each new run.

The only issue with this approach is that some of the plot points are more impactful than others, and you might current of air upward unearthing the really juicy stuff early in the game. One time you know exactly how Blackreef Island's time loop started and why Julianna wants you expressionless, the residual of the story feels a bit similar mopping upwards.

Deathloop review: Visuals and sound

While Blackreef Island can be a dour identify, Deathloop is a pretty game. Each of the 4 explorable districts has something unique to offer, from the vivacious city streets of Updaam to the lonely shorelines of Karl's Bay. The whole game has a slightly cartoonish aesthetic and a powerful '60s vibe, replete with minicom computers, retro-futurist rockets and polka dot mini dresses. On a PC, you can crank the settings as high as your machine allows; on a PS5, you can run at dynamic 4K resolution or a steady 60 frames per second.

The game's music and voicework are as well stellar, with plenty of ambient tunes and a lot of spirited banter. Jason East. Kelley as Colt and Ozioma Akagha equally Julianna really steal the show, withal, with frequent back-and-forths that can turn from skilful-natured to vindictive on a dime. Since the two of them tin (and do) kill each other frequently, there'due south no impending confrontation hanging over their exchanges. Every conversation has a laid-back, mildly threatening vibe that's sometimes playful and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.

The just large issue hither is that Deathloop is non very stable on PC. The game crashes regularly plenty to be an issue, and frequently drops frame rates, fifty-fifty when there's nothing specially demanding going on. Bethesda is working on a patch for these issues, but crashes present a existent problem, as the game saves just between areas.

Deathloop review: Verdict

Play Deathloop long plenty, and the shine wears off a flake. A fourth dimension loop is, by nature, a repetitive upshot, and the game can't quite square that with its "make progress in every run" philosophy. Some runs are complete wastes of time, and that's particularly frustrating when you need to replay a particularly hard or demanding section.

On the other hand, Deathloop takes a creative premise and delivers on it extremely well. At that place'southward a ton to do and see, and you can do it and see it at your own pace, in your own playstyle. The hero and villain share a delightful chemistry, and one time you learn the ins and outs of the loop, you'll get-go to feel pretty clever.

If goose egg else, we haven't seen a game quite like Deathloop before. That alone arguably makes it worth a expect.

More: You should play Deathloop on the PS5 for the all-time experience

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site'south coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing groundwork, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you can notice him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.