It’s a delicious irony that one of PlayStation 5’s most exciting exclusive prospects this year comes from some of the newest members of the extended Xbox Game Studios family, but let’s not let that quirk of timing obscure the real story here: Arkane Studios, creators of some of the finest immersive sim experiences in its brace of Dishonored games and 2017’s superlative if somewhat underappreciated Prey, is back with an all-new game that funnels some of that expertise into a tightly wound timeloop, and layers plenty more on top besides.
Deathloop previewPublisher: Bethesda SoftworksDeveloper: ArkaneAvailability: Out September 14th 2021 on PC and PS5 as a timed console exclusive
The topline? It’s Dishonored with guns, an extension of Arkane’s previous work in the world of immersive sims that mixes all that sorcery and supernatural power into a hard-boiled late 60s world of assassins and stylish villain’s lairs; there’s a dash of Clockwork Orange, a touch of The Prisoner, a serving or two of John Boorman’s Point Blank and even – if you’re old enough to recall – a bit of Monolith’s beloved No One Lives Forever.
15 Things You Need To Know About Deathloop – NEW GAMEPLAY AND EASTER EGGS! Watch on YouTube
It’s quite the mixing pot, then, but there’s no doubting that first and foremost this is an Arkane joint, an immersive sim swimming in style and full of all sorts of murderous possibilities. You play as Colt, waking with a bleary head on the bleak shores of Blackreef. A remote northern European island, it first presents itself as a head of cliffs as craggy as Colt’s hangover as he pieces together his situation – helped along by floating, fragmented text prompts, a knowing lift from What Remains of Edith Finch and further confirmation, should you need any, that Arkane is a studio with exquisite taste.
It’s those text prompts that urge Colt to break the loop, the first sign that leads to the slow dread realisation that you’re stuck playing the same day over and over again, the same NPCs following the same patrols and – most importantly – the eight targets known as The Visionaries you ultimately need to eliminate following their same routine. The only way to break the loop is by taking all eight down in the same day, the island’s secrets and those of its inhabitants unfurling as you live through each day again.
Now, how you go about taking down those eight targets is where things get fuzzier, as well as a lot more interesting. Blackreef is broken down into four distinct districts you’re able to select from your base of operations – there’s the wintry complex, a proper Bond villain’s lair set amidst a snowstorm; Updaam, whose dank and shadowy streets could well be in Dunwall; the cavernous Kristal Bay; and finally the vertiginous urbanity Karl’s Bay, with each available over four times of day. Those eight targets carry out their own routines across each of those areas – how exactly you get all to align so they can be taken out in a single loop is part of the fun, their whereabouts and timetable slowly revealing themselves across each run.