It’s been a year since Deathloop came out but it’s like a first for Xbox gamers. East death loop analysis It is certainly something special, it is for me, because in the absence of a good PC to run the game, I have been waiting for its strange exclusivity to end and finally reach its home. And the truth is that I’ve enjoyed every minute of this game so much that it’s becoming one of those games that I don’t want to let go of.
When Deathloop went on sale in 2021, in We are Xbox we did the analysis of the game in its version for PC, and of course, is full of praise. And this, as much as it sounds like a cliché phrase, it can be said: This game is Arkane at its best. If you can recognize this talented studio for something, it is their ability to create unique first-person shooters, loaded with inexplicably fun weapons, as well as powers that offer maximum freedom of choice as to how you want to play.
You must play it to understand it
Despite all the good things that can be said about this game, the truth is that there is a big barrier: many still wonder what Deathloop is about, how to play it, what is the goal of this strange game. The launch and subsequent trailers have not provided much clarification, and this has to do with the complexity in which the game is developed both narratively and playably. This does not mean that the game is not understandable, in fact, it’s a game that teaches itself, but you have to play it in order to understand it.
We embody Colt who is trapped in a time loop which means he has to relive the same day over and over again, while being chased by an assassin named Julianna. This is the story that we are told at the beginning of the game. The rest we will discover through recordings, collectibles. The objective of the game is simple, although achieving it will take us from one place to another through incredible level design: you must end the time loop.
Now yes, the question is how do you achieve it? This that follows is like a mini spoiler, and it is that to achieve your goal you must kill seven seers, who are the elites of this island. The deadline to achieve it is a single day, and you must meet them, find out what they do and find the way, the place and the day that each of them must die.
A unique design from time
If you’ve played previous Arkane games, you know that they like to pay special attention to the gameplay having a special talent for level design, weaponry and special abilities that players can hone. Let’s stay for a moment with the structure of Deathloop that once you experience it you realize that it is unique and original. The playable areas in Deathloop are divided as different dayseach with four moments that correspond to the cycle of the day: morning, noon, afternoon and night.
Regarding the development of the game we must say that there is an interesting mix of possibilities. You can certainly choose to go to the district you want at each moment of the day or skip entire moments whenever you want. It seems to mean that it is an open game, sandbox, or something like that. Nevertheless, Deathloop feels pretty linear in the best of ways.. The narrative always makes it clear to you when and where you need to go to progress.
Since it is a temporary loop, after each night you go back to the previous morning and the game world is completely reset, but Colt retains all the knowledge gained during the last race. If you die, the morning also resets. The most surprising thing about level design is realizing how, although at first it seems like a simple structure with relatively quick spaces to explore, everything expands, transforms and enriches itself every time you play a new day.
Combat: freedom, weapons and skills
Arkane wants you to have fun with Deathloop, which is why he’s put together a set of abilities that range from teleportation to telekinesis to abilities that allow you to string enemies together for maximum carnage. And of course, we are not going to leave aside the arsenal that you have, as unique as it is fun to use, although not as varied. All of these skills and weapons can be upgraded and equipped with new mods. and trinkets that further expand abilities.
This of course translates into excellent combat in many ways. If we start to compare Deathloop with Dishonored, useful for those who have played this first title, we can say that power-based combat is used here, just like in Dishonored, but everything works much better: faster, better controlled. It is also true that once you control your character and abilities well, you will be a killing machine.
Additionally, you will have an additional item called Pictographs which are your selection of superpowers, each linked to a respective Visionary and Julianna. Every time you kill one of the bosses they will allow you to acquire one of these pictograms or also called slabs, which are incredibly powerful mods for abilities. Powers work with a generous energy meter that fills up quickly.
Although the game could have had more weapons, I don’t feel like I needed more. There are different levels of rarity and perks that can be added to each weapon.. With this you can find the one that best suits your style of play. In total you can carry three weapons which will allow you to complete the entire range of weapons you need for combat styles: short, medium and long distance. There are several legendary weapons that you can unlock through various side quests.
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The other items available are the grenades and the hackamajig. The latter is a very fun tool because it allows you to hack doors, antennas and more to even the odds in your favor. One of its main uses is to unlock the tunnels you use to enter/exit each level whenever Julianna invades your game session.
Art, sound and performance
I must say two things: this game made me really fantastic in art although at the same time it has some flaws, let’s say normal for Arkane’s style. Sometimes you expect that so much freedom that is offered in the gameplay is offered in the possibility of destroying the scenarios and well, you will not find that here. Other than that, I think you won’t be disappointed. Let’s start with performance. There are four visual modes available.
These modes are: Ray Tracing at 30fps, a quality mode without RT but with higher graphic fidelity at 60fps, a performance mode that ensures greater stability at 60fps and finally for those with a higher refresh rate there is a 120 fps option that keeps the resolution at 1080p. If you have to choose I think the default choice is performance mode. A first-person shooter like Deathloop needs 60fps, but it also needs to show off its art and graphics, so Ultra Performance isn’t the best for me.
They compare the performance of Deathloop on Xbox Series X and PS5
Being the last Arkane game, it is normal that it is the game that looks the best. Let’s think about Prey, who was beautiful. But Deathloop is better visually. It is also true that it is smaller in size of playable areas. Now, the character models look great, especially in hi-fi modes, and I love the art style. Retro futurism as a style always seems to me to be a fantastic choice.
Regarding the sound I must say that this should be divided. On the one hand, there are the dialogues that in content and voice acting are incredible. Also, in Latin Spanish the dubbing of Colt has the same dubbing actor of La Roca, and well, that detail made me fantastic, because all the time you are having fun between the dialogues, which are many, and the dubbing. In English they are also great. The other voiced characters are also very well acted and written.
Music is another of those jewels of the game. I loved every musical moment in the game. It emotionally guides you through the game and adds a lot of charm to every moment of the game. And sound of weapons for me is also ideal.
Conclusion of the Deathloop analysis
Deathloop is a brilliant and unique game. It feels like a product where Arkane has taken all of his learning and added it to his talent to make wonderful games. From the first moment I got into the game I have not stopped enjoying everything it has to offer. And although it was the same thing that happened to me with the Dishonored saga, here it feels much better. Prey is a fantastic game, but it’s much more abstract.
There are many aspects that we can highlight: the history, the dialogues and the universe they have created are mixed with fun gameplay, great performance and some pretty impressive level design. Without a doubt, this is a game that you will want to have in your collection, and yes, it is also on Xbox Game Pass, so you have no excuse to at least give it a try to see if it is the game for you. It is said of many games that it is not for everyone, but this one, on the other hand, I think was made so that everyone could enjoy it in their own way.
Arkane has always known how to make games. But she has also learned to make them better. Deathloop is the sample of that. In what they still have a way to learn is in multiplayer mode. I explored this mode little, and the truth is that it was not as pleasant as the rest of the game, at least not when you wanted to invade the world of others. It is certainly an option that some will be able to take better advantage of.