Deathloop's new gameplay trailer looks best in its quietest moments
Nine minutes of timeloop bliss
I've had my eye on the time-bending FPS Deathloop ever since it was first revealed, so I was very excited to see more of it at PlayStation's State Of Play last night. And how do I feel having now seen the latest nine minute gameplay trailer? I'd say mainly excited and a touch apprehensive. Now I better wipe this drool off my chin.
In Deathloop you play as Colt, a bloke trapped in a timeloop. In order to escape, you need to assassinate eight targets before the day ends and everything resets. And in the newest trailer I've linked below, we see a hefty slice of a mission where you're hunting down a fella in a wolf mask.
First and foremost, I think Deathloop looks great. In classic Arkane style, the world looks wonderfully woven together, with plenty of spots to gather intel and leap on unsuspecting enemies from all sorts of angles. Colt's smooth tones caught me off guard too - he's got a nice voice and there's good energy to his banter over the radio.
Arkane also showed off a new recall ability that lets you rewind time if you get killed. It's a neat addition that takes a bit of pressure off testing out a new approach, or going all guns blazing. You can also whip out a little walkie-talkie that can hack turrets or nearby electronics to shred or distract enemies.
But the more gameplay I see, the more I agree with Imogen's thoughts in her Deathloop preview, where she said that her only gripe lay in stealth not always being the best way to go about your murdering.
To me, Deathloop looks best in its quiet moments, where you're pattering around on floorboards Dishonored-style and listening to guards talk about gates they've accidentally left unlocked. I get this little flutter of pain everytime I see the demoist charge into battle because it makes me question if stealth is worth it. What if I don't want to go balls-to-the-wall? What if I want to carefully, methodically pin their balls to the wall, instead?
My stealthy-senses also tingle in these action-packed sequences. Deathloop's abilities, like the one where you fling enemies with a swipe of your hand, seem like so much fun, but the gunplay, though; I'm not convinced it'll feel good, you know? The weapons look like they lack that all-important punch. Unless you're creative with your super-powers, I get the sense hectic gunfights might feel a bit hollow and rather janky. Colt's swanky reload animation is very fancy, though.
Still, we've only seen a small portion of Deathloop, and all of my misgivings might fly out of the window once it releases on PC this September.