Reviews
[Review] ‘Deathloop’ is a Glorious, Time-Bending Murder Puzzle
Arkane pushes the boat out big time with Deathloop. Its latest carries itself with all the swagger of a developer that has perfected the modern immersive sim with the excellent Dishonored series, and the greatly underappreciated Prey. Somehow, Deathloop has more personality, style, and ambition than its precursors, and sharpens the familiar Arkane trappings to a fine point. In short, Deathloop is the ultimate Arkane game.
Deathloop puts the player in the shoes of that most relatable of protagonist type; the amnesiac. Colt Vahn awakens on an island’s beach at dawn, seemingly hungover, and very confused about how he’s ended up here. Things get a bit weird when wispy clouds of text materialize in front of his eyes as he stumbles towards the first door he sees. The words coax him into action and he continues on. Soon after, a voice on a radio begins to taunt and tease him. This is Julianna Blake, and she is going to be Colt’s endless spanner in the works.
Julianna quite violently shows Colt he’s stuck in a time loop, and the only way out is to find a way of lining up seven targets in a single day and murdering them to break the loop. That’s not as easy as it might sound because this island, known as Blackreef, is actually chock-full of gun-toting hedonists, and ruled by an elite group of rich oddballs known as the Visionaries, and they are Colt’s targets.
To make matters worse, each target is only around in one of the game’s four districts at certain times, and at first, it’s impossible to eliminate all the targets in a single loop. Each loop in Blackreef begins at dawn, and once the game’s opening has given Colt everything he needs to tackle his big death puzzle, he’s free to visit whichever of the four districts he pleases, but in doing so, locks out the other three areas for that time period. So the idea is to focus on exploring an area to uncover new information that helps the player piece together a solution for escaping the island for good, and then try and kill off a target to obtain their unique ability slabs.
To really get anywhere, Colt needs these abilities. They follow a similar pattern to Dishonored’s powers and are increasingly useful for exploring every nook, cranny, and murder option possible on Blackreef. Shift, for instance, allows Colt to travel over short distances instantly, which is handy for getting onto rooftops, and keeping out of the sight of Blackreef’s booze-addled goons, but if he returns to obtain that slab from that target again, he can get upgrades to the ability that allow him to travel further, or even stop in mid-air to choose a landing spot. You can only carry two slabs at a time, however, so planning is needed before setting out.
With information and power to obtain, no loop feels wasted, but dying does have its consequences. Die before you finish the day and the loop resets abruptly, with Colt losing anything he’s gained from that run. The permanent slab ability Reprise does at least off Colt two additional chances to cheat death, rewinding his physical form back a short distance from the point of death to avoid a quick encore. This, plus a complete lack of a manual save system gives Deathloop’s time looping quest a deadlier feel, but still allows just enough room for the necessary experimentation to learn from the experience.
While going in all guns blazing is a valid option for taking out targets, the smart way, to begin with, is to skulk in the shadows, avoiding combat where possible, and learning all you can about your target. Without Colt’s intrusion, they all follow the same patterns each time because to them, it’s still the same day it was last time, so you get to understand roughly where they’ll be and what ways you can get to them. I must have killed some of these targets a dozen times, and found all sorts of ways to approach killing them, from luring them to explosive death, to brutally turning their own defenses against them. The satisfaction of figuring out new ways to solve each murder puzzle is key to what makes Deathloop tick.
Blackreef’s ego-stroking decadence allows the Visionaries to focus on their own individual batshit plans, and put their personal stamp on each district. This is a place set in an alternate 1960s, and there’s plenty of that decade’s jazzy swing in how the Visionaries have decorated the island. Big splashes of bold poppy color adorn ancient walls. Coupled with the superb soundtrack and nods to 60s culture and history (James Bond and the space race especially), it feels very much like a particular decade infecting a different time, which really feels in keeping with the tone Arkane are going for.
The Updaam district, for example, has plenty of old housing that wouldn’t feel out of place in Dishonored’s Dunwall, but Visionaries Aleksis and Charlie have added their own mansions that fit their personalities. Charlie is a super-smart game maker who gave up half his brain to power a computer that runs his home and the tannoy system for the island. Charlie’s tower-like home gets turned into a live-action role-playing game during the day, giving Colt easier access to him. It’s full of naff cardboard cutout aliens, fog machines, and painted backgrounds, and the more you learn about Charlie and his ‘better half’ 2-Bit, the more this geeky setup makes sense. Meanwhile, Aleksis is a party animal, whose opulent, swanky mansion is absolutely made for partying, and it sticks out like a sore thumb against the largely untouched old-world buildings that surround it. It’s loud and gaudy, just like its owner, but boy, is it ever a great place to explore as you plan out your hunt.
Just when you think you have a good strategy in place, that aforementioned spanner in the works is liable to show up and ruin your best-laid plans. Julianna is Colt’s nemesis, and is out to protect the loop. She comes armed with her own weapons and slabsWhen she’s not goading Colt over the radio (the back and forth between the pair is brilliantly performed), she may jump into action and hunt Colt down. The ethereal sigh of music that announces her arrival can be positively dread-inducing in the wrong circumstances as you now have two additional jobs to add to whatever you were doing; reopen the level exits she’s locked down, and either confront or avoid Julianna. I could see how this could have been an annoying distraction as mechanics go, but for me, it adds spice to the relatively more routine nature of whatever mission you’re doing. Plus, defeating her can be a good shortcut to getting a nice new weapon or a slab you hadn’t found yet.
If Julianna had only been an A.I. foe, it might not have had quite the impact it does, but the most fascinating, and thrilling, aspect of this is that another player can be Julianna, and invade your game (if you allow that setting). Now there’s a real fear and level of unpredictability that an A.I. simply cannot instill. You don’t know how skilled this person is, what abilities they’ve picked up (you can level up Julianna by gaining points for actions in an invasion), nor exactly what their strategy and intentions might be.
The point of playing as Julianna is to ruin Colt’s fun by closing his current loop. It produced some memorable moments that you simply won’t get otherwise. One of the first times I got invaded, I went into defense mode immediately. I hid high up, just around the corner from a pair of large metal facility doors, threw out some proximity mines around the area, and waited patiently, peeking out occasionally from my secluded spot. Eventually, I hear a boom as one of the mines is set off, and I come out of hiding, gun at the ready. I hit the player once, but they quickly dart back behind the metal doors, and I dare not go after them yet. There’s a nervy standoff that seems to last forever, but in reality, was no more than sixty seconds, and it culminates in them getting knocked back by another proximity mine, ducking back into the doorway, and me finally deciding to go for broke and run after them. I get a few shots off at close range, and the encounter is over. A thrilling boss battle choreographed entirely on the fly by two human beings.
That’s not the most fascinating part of the invasion system to me. Being Julianna offers up a lot more freedom than you might expect. Yes, you’re supposed to kill Colt, and sabotage him to gain as many points as you can, but I’ve found it to be far more interesting to buck that trend and actively help Colt by taking out enemies, destroying obstacles, and even killing off his targets. Naturally, players aren’t entirely receptive to the idea of a friendly Julianna, and that added a fresh dynamic to encounters. I’ve learned to do what I came to do, and hide away until the player has left because hilariously, even running away has led to players getting killed by goons trying to chase me after I’ve done the heavy lifting.
Either approach works best when you’ve played through the game as Colt and have a better understanding of each district’s secrets, passageways, and routines. You can get the jump on Colt this way, and you’ll need to because while Colt can die a few times before checking out, Julianna has just one shot at taking Colt out. Her unique slab allows her to switch appearance with anyone else, meaning you can use it to lure Colt towards or away from where you are, and she has the same multifaceted grenade as Colt to lay tripwire and proximity traps. Having better knowledge of Blackreef means a tactical advantage in both being hunter and the hunted.
As everything started to fall together and the end of the loop was finally in sight, I felt a tinge of sadness that my first experience of Deathloop was almost over. I dragged out that finale as long as I could, uncovering every possible route, secret, tidbit on the Visionaries, Blackreef, as well as the unclear history between Colt and Julianna. As with Dishonored’s Dunwall and Karnaka, or Prey’s Talos-I, Blackreef has life to it. Diseased, hateable life that often deserves to end, but that in itself drives the grim wonder of the place, and exploring its stories never got old. It’s a place I’m absolutely going to revisit from the start again at some point, with all the accrued knowledge that matters almost undoubtedly set to make the next visit to Blackreef feel as fresh as it is warmly familiar.
Deathloop review code for PS5 provided by the publisher.
Deathloop is out now on PS5 and PC.
It’s a big world out there, and that alone can make it seem pretty scary for some people. The uncertainty, the unknown, the unfamiliar – while there are those among us who crave exploration, they’re seemingly outnumbered by those who prefer to close their doors, their borders, and their hearts to whomever – and whatever – sits on the other side. The temptation will be strong to label The Outer Threat as a Temu Disclosure Day, but open your heart to it (and accept its budgetary limitations), and you’ll be rewarded with an engaging, hopeful genre tale.
Daniel (Mark O’Brien) is an astrophysicist living on a remote farm with Michelle (Constance Wu) and their two children (Callista Crowe, Isaac Smelcer-Zhang). He retreats every day to an underground bunker where he monitors and searches the universe for signs of extraterrestrial life, and one morning he finds just that – clear evidence of an advanced civilization that’s successfully found a way to harvest the power of their solar system’s sun. He’s understandably ecstatic and in a hurry to tell the world, but Michelle, a retired scientist who’s nearly given up on humanity as a whole and chooses to focus solely on her family, is adamant that he keep quiet.
He goes against her wishes, obviously, and sends an email filled with data attachments to his boss at NORAD. The result is almost immediate as electrical power, internet connections, and cell service all shut off in and around their small nearby town. Soon small drones are buzzing their farm and peeping in their windows, MQ-9 Reapers are bombing their bunker, and unmarked cars are following their every move.
Writer/director William Woods makes his directorial debut with The Outer Threat, and while his ambitions dwarf his resources, the end result is a compelling family adventure that argues for opening our metaphorical doors to the unknown. A strong cast, that also includes a supporting turn from the always welcome William Fichtner, helps carry the downtime between suspense sequences and minor set pieces. It’s an undeniably small film, but its ideas and conversations are exponentially bigger.
Michelle’s beef with humankind stems from both the personal and the general state of the world at large. Her father (Oscar Hsu) is also a scientist, and like Daniel, he risked valuing his work over his family to the point that Michelle no longer speaks with him. Her bigger issue is knowing that our species is a poor steward of both this planet and each other, and when Daniel accuses her of having little faith in humanity, she replies only “not without reason.”
One of The Outer Threat’s most interesting sequences will feel like a disjointed detour to some, but it actually encapsulates one of the film’s central themes in one simple exchange. The family is on the road and heading to Michelle’s father’s place – she’s not thrilled, but his past work with the government might come in handy – when they decide to stop for food. They reach a tiny town that looks deceptively abandoned and are welcomed into a diner by the owner, Sam (Fichtner), and his young granddaughter.
He’s initially cautious and explains that soldiers had passed through, telling everyone to remain indoors, but he proceeds to feed the family in need while explaining that he’s hoping to scrounge up some fuel to reconnect with the rest of his family. Sam also shares with Michelle that he hesitated to open his door to them simply because they were different. He was fearful, and now he’s ashamed and worried that maybe he’s not the man he thought he was. “What really scares me,” he adds, “was the thought that maybe, just maybe, we’re all rotten.”
She listens. She leaves. And she never tells him about the numerous extra canisters of gas they have in the back of their pickup truck.
It’s a striking character beat as our protagonist, even halfway through the film, remains steadfast in her disconnect from others. She’s far from the only one in need of change, though, as it was Daniel’s hubris and ego that led to this situation in the first place. “Our kids should be home safe,” she tells him at one point, “but you just had to let the world know how smart you are.” Woods and his cast mine drama from this brilliant but misaligned couple, and both Wu and O’Brien are convincing in their motivations and emotions.
Somewhat less convincing are the film’s occasional swings at big visual effects. Drones and weather balloons in the sky are passable, but explosions, vast encampments, and more land with an iffy digital thud. None of them are deal breakers, though, both because they’re used sparingly and because the characters and their dilemma take center stage.
Woods, whose best and brightest accomplishment remains serving as a producer on the criminally underseen 2020 film, The Kid Detective, arguably bites off a bit more than he can chew with The Outer Threat. His big ideas on both story and humankind are inevitably under-explored in a film of this size, and you’ll be left wishing he had a bigger budget behind him. Audiences are bound to expect something more from the film’s third act, especially, so set your expectations accordingly going in that this is more a film about human connection and ideals than it is a tale of alien invasion.
There are moments here of genuine suspense and thrills, but the film’s power rests in those human beats. From Sam revealing he was concealing a gun while making them pancakes, to Michelle’s father pushing aside huge news of world-altering significance so he can instead spend time with grandchildren he’s only just met, to feuding kids combining their skills for an act of bravery, this is a movie about people who can be so much more than we believe ourselves capable of being.
“For thousands of years human beings have been the dominant species on this planet,” says a character at a certain point, “but that’s no longer the case.” The trailer teases this line, and while you can’t fault the marketing department, it might feel like a bit of a bait and switch by the time the end credits roll. You can choose to be underwhelmed, but here’s hoping you open the door to the film’s hopefulness instead.
The Outer Threat is now available on VOD and Digital.
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