‘DEATHLOOP’ is Arkane Studios’ most thrilling game yet

“DEATHLOOP” is the swan song many gamers have searched for during the console generation. Bethesda Softworks and Arkane Studios’ latest project comes during a time of next-gen console shortages and a drought of new, triple-A game releases that are not console exclusives. It’s a huge relief that “DEATHLOOP” is most likely Arkane’s greatest game yet. 

In “DEATHLOOP,” the player takes control of Colt, an amnesiac assassin who wakes up on the labyrinthian Blackreef Island and must kill eight people known as “Visionaries” to break the time loop he is stuck in. Should Colt die three times in a day, the loop resets and he must start over from scratch, losing all the equipment gained but luckily retaining any information learned. This repetitive yet engrossing cycle slowly unravels the mystery behind Colt’s amnesia and gives the player more tools to work with during each loop.

Given that “DEATHLOOP” is a true “next-gen exclusive,” It would be a tragedy if I didn’t discuss the game’s graphics. To put it simply: the game is a vibrant nightmare. A bright color palette permeates throughout the game, basking the player in gorgeous, bright alternate-1970s environments and character models. The PS5 version also comes with three graphics modes: Performance, Quality, and Raytracing, each successively sacrificing frames per second for visual quality and raytracing, a rendering technique that allows in-game lighting to behave almost as it would in real life. Personally, I am a fan of a smooth 60 FPS over visual fidelity, but each mode offers its own experience, and I would recommend trying both for yourself.

The graphic fidelity also lends itself to the setting of Blackreef, an island of decadence and arrogance separated into four zones: Updaam, The Complex, Fristad Rock and Karl’s Bay. Each area exhibits stylistic qualities of the 1970s while also representing the Visionaries who call these areas home. Colt’s past with all the Visionaries serves to hinder him as each belongs to different fields of expertise. The Visionaries’ singular desire to kill Colt creates unique and individualistic environments that Colt has to navigate. Updaam’s European urban center contrasts well with Fristad Rock’s fjord-like areas or Karl’s Bay’s seaside bays. 

Combat still packs a punch in both stealth and shooting in “DEATHLOOP,” even in the face of Colt’s status as the weakest of Arkane’s protagonists. Grizzly stealth takedowns done in all sorts of bone-crushing and terrifying, brutal ways feel as satisfying as shooting an enemy with a headshot from a pneumatic nail gun found earlier through exploration. Arkane’s refinement of their combat systems reveals itself here, as “DEATHLOOP” feels like a pinnacle of their previous work while still giving it enough differentiation to stand on its own.

With the premise of time resets and an “efficient killing trumps indiscriminate murder” mentality, “DEATHLOOP” certainly lavishes the player with opportunity and choice in its opening hours. A core component of Colt’s amnesia is that there are other versions of himself that have already completed tasks and exploration before the player. The game actively helps and hinders the player by having the other Colt “talk” to you telepathically through communication that ends up as text displayed above or on objects and scenery. The jarring nature of being given constant guidance and the complete freedom to disregard it gives “DEATHLOOP’’ a unique take on player agency. It also means that other characters in the game have other versions of themselves, including Julianna, one of the eight Visionaries who actively impedes your progress by taunting you and invading your game in order to kill you.

Julianna’s inclusion as a recurring invading enemy, controlled by either an AI or another online player, adds to the narrative and the pace of combat. The constant threat of not only the regular enemies but another person who is on an equal level to Colt reinforces the need for efficient planning and the idea that the player is prey being hunted, turning the tables once they become sufficiently powerful.

This feeling of independence also extends to the plot. While modern video game narratives have been lengthy and climactic in recent years, with games like “God of War” and “Final Fantasy VII Remake” being more akin to movies with gameplay elements, “DEATHLOOP’’ keeps its story surprisingly simple. Colt’s mission is to kill eight people in a day and escape the time loop. 

That’s it. 

While there is much to discover about the eight targets and why Blackreef island even exists, the plot does not deviate much from the fact that Colt needs to hunt them down, at least in the first couple hours. This is quite a departure from Arkane’s previous games. “Dishonored 1,” “Dishonored 2” and “Prey” all had world-building laid out through discoverable documents and environmental storytelling, letting the player understand the immediate conflicts at hand while subtly revealing things about the in-game world. 

“DEATHLOOP”’s informational dialogue, collectibles and environments all serve to detail the main character, the Visionaries and the setting, speaking of little else. While this change is not poorly implemented, some fans may yearn for a narrative closer to Arkane’s previous works.

“DEATHLOOP” feels like being stranded in a bad dream and having to repeat it every day. Each day feels as miserable as the last but gaining that little bit of ground on it, leaving you satisfied and ready for another. 

The strong and visceral combat, the minimal yet engaging narrative and the freedom the player is offered in operating culminate in an experience that is not only next-gen but genre-defining.