REVIEW - Deathloop Represents Arkane Firing On All Cylinders
A real beauty.
By Jonathan Garrett
18/01/22
Reviewed on PS5.
Review copy provided by Bethesda.
Through a clean art style, interesting characters and a wonderful premise, Deathloop is Arkane flexing its creative prowess with richly deserved confidence. After a flurry of memorable releases, Deathloop is in many ways a logical extension of their recent efforts; it’s a combination of the sharp, ability laden combat of Dishonored, with the world building and environmental storytelling of Prey.
However, such comparisons should not be mistaken as an implication of creative bankruptcy. If anything, this is one of Arkane’s most surprising games to date, and their clarity of direction can be found in abundance. Even the UI (which is pleasingly unobtrusive) and the menus feel visually cohesive, helped in part by visual design that leverages its PC / new gen hardware to great effect.
Deathloop absolutely benefits from being released on specific hardware, with texture detail, lighting, and the framerate all ticking boxes in the best way possible. Although innumerable developers have proven the viability of cross gen releases time and again, it is nevertheless pleasing to see a game pushing a bit further on the technical side. Environments in particular look stunning, with judicious use of atmospheric effects helping to create a world that feels like it existed well before the player arrived.
Much like Dishonored, which inescapably is the closest point of comparison here, you get to make so many moment to moment choices. Optional distractions that lead you on an exploratory tangent, right through to combat approaches and the variance in AI behaviour. Stealth and action work seamlessly together, with failed attempts to be tactical inevitably leading to a slapstick moment with enemy ragdoll, or a close encounter that raises the stakes.
Your mileage with the looping mechanic itself will depend on how you feel about backtracking. One could argue that its inherently repetitive nature might be off putting for some. Still, everything from logically mapped controls, to top tier writing and voice acting, easily makes one of Arkane’s very best games to date, and a great timed exclusive get for PlayStation.
Nice font.
WORTH IT?
At the bottom of every game review, we ask the question: Worth it? And the answer is either “Yeah!” or “Nah”, followed by a comment that sums up how we feel. In order to provide more information, we also have “And” or “But”, which follows up our rating with further clarification, additional context for a game we love, or perhaps a redeeming quality for a game we didn’t like.
YEAH!
Deathloop is a wonderfully creative and engaging good time, that will stick with you well after the credits roll.
AND
Despite the repetitive nature of its central mechanic, there’s still a hefty amount to see and do.
TARPS?
At the bottom of some of our articles, you’ll see a series of absurd looking images (with equally stupid, in joke laden names). These are the TARP badges, which represent our ‘Totally Accurate Rating Platform’. They allow us to identify specific things, recognise positive or negative aspects of a games design, and generally indulge our consistent silliness with some visual tomfoolery.
