DEATHLOOP Review Summary

Visually stunning, cohesive art style: The game features stunning and unique visuals, a fitting soundtrack, and a cohesive art style that enhances the immersive experience. These elements contribute significantly to the game's overall appeal and are consistently praised throughout the reviews. The game's aesthetic is frequently described as a highlight.

Engaging, well-executed time loop: The time loop mechanic is well-executed and engaging, encouraging experimentation and exploration. Players find satisfaction in learning the loops, solving puzzles, and mastering the game's systems. The Infusion system allows players to retain weapons and abilities between loops, creating a sense of progression.

Excellent, varied level design: The game's level design is a standout feature, offering player choice, varied environments, and multiple paths to objectives. The world changes depending on the time of day, adding depth and encouraging exploration. This allows for diverse playstyles and strategic thinking.

Satisfying gunplay, diverse combat: The gunplay is satisfying and well-tuned, with unique weapons and abilities that allow for creative combat approaches. The game avoids excessive grinding and offers a variety of playstyle options. The shooting mechanics are often compared favorably to other games in the genre.

Similar to Arkane's Dishonored: Many reviewers note the game's similarities to Arkane's previous title, Dishonored, citing familiar gameplay mechanics and a similar overall feel. However, reviewers also appreciate the ways in which this game expands upon those mechanics and offers a unique experience. The game is considered a spiritual successor to Dishonored.

Constant crashes and lost progress: The game suffers from severe technical issues, including frequent crashes, freezes, and memory leaks, often leading to lost progress due to a flawed or non-existent save system. These problems persist even on high-end hardware and have remained unaddressed for years, making the game unstable and frustrating to play. Many players have reported that the game is literally unplayable due to these issues, and some suspect that the game has been abandoned by the developers.

Poor and repetitive enemy AI: Reviewers consistently criticize the game's AI for being simplistic, inconsistent, and exploitable, making both stealth and combat feel either too easy or unfairly difficult. The limited enemy variety and repetitive encounters further contribute to a monotonous gameplay experience. This point is mentioned frequently across many reviews.

Inferior to previous Arkane games: Many reviewers express disappointment, stating that the game fails to live up to the standards set by previous Arkane titles like Dishonored and Prey. They cite a lack of depth, innovation, and immersive qualities compared to these earlier works, leading to a sense that the game is a simplified or less inspired version of its predecessors. Some reviewers felt that the game was a soulless spinoff of Dishonored.

Confusing and slow start: The game's initial hours are often described as confusing, overwhelming, and slow-paced, with a steep learning curve and inadequate guidance. Players may struggle to understand the core mechanics and objectives, leading to frustration and a lack of engagement early on. Some reviewers also felt that the game had too much tutorial at the beginning.

Laggy and unbalanced multiplayer: The multiplayer component, particularly playing as Julianna, suffers from significant lag, connection issues, and imbalance, leading to a frustrating and often unplayable experience. Many reviewers report long matchmaking times, rubberbanding, and unfair advantages for either Colt or Julianna, making the PvP aspect disruptive and unenjoyable. Some reviewers also found the AI Julianna to be easily exploitable.

Core: time-loop investigation, manipulation: The core gameplay loop revolves around a time loop mechanic, where the player relives the same day, divided into four time periods across four locations. Actions in one time period affect subsequent ones, and the player retains knowledge and some items between loops. The goal is to eliminate eight targets within a single loop by gathering clues and manipulating events.

Mix of action and stealth: The game offers a blend of action and stealth gameplay, allowing players to approach situations in various ways. Players can choose to engage in direct combat or utilize stealth tactics, with the game providing tools and abilities to support both playstyles. This freedom encourages experimentation and adaptation to different challenges.

Infusion system enables persistent upgrades: The game features an infusion system that allows players to retain weapons, abilities, and upgrades between loops by spending Residuum. This system adds a layer of progression and customization, encouraging players to strategically choose which items to keep and discard. Losing non-infused gear can be frustrating.

Similar to Dishonored, more action: The game shares similarities with Arkane's Dishonored series, but with a greater emphasis on gunplay and less on stealth. The game encourages creativity and experimentation, allowing players to adapt to their environment and accept mistakes. There is no morality system.

Supernatural abilities (Slabs) enhance gameplay: Players can acquire supernatural abilities called Slabs, such as teleportation and linking enemies, which can be upgraded by killing Visionaries multiple times. These powers, combined with weapons and gadgets, allow for diverse combat and traversal strategies. The abilities are similar to those found in Arkane's Dishonored series.

Excessive VRAM usage: The game exhibits high VRAM usage, sometimes leading to crashes or performance degradation, even with ray tracing disabled. Some players report the game utilizes all available VRAM. This can be problematic even on systems that otherwise meet the game's requirements.

High hardware requirements: The game has relatively high hardware requirements, potentially causing issues for players with older systems, especially those with GTX 1050 Ti or lower GPUs. There are also concerns about potential damage to laptop GPUs.

VSync and framerate issues: Some players have found that disabling VSync and/or capping the frame rate can improve performance and reduce stuttering. This suggests potential issues with the game's VSync implementation and frame pacing.

Void Engine performance issues: The game uses the Void Engine, which is known for causing random frame lags and crashes, even on well-optimized PCs. This suggests the engine itself may be a source of performance issues.

Minor sound issues: Some players have reported occasional sound issues, such as audio sounding quiet or disjointed. The default music volume may also be too low for some players.

Recommend, especially on sale: Many reviewers recommend the game, especially on sale, citing its unique qualities and fun gameplay. However, some suggest waiting for a sale due to perceived value not matching the full price, or because of technical issues. Some reviewers also suggest that the game is underrated.

Requires patience, investment: Some reviewers note that the game requires patience and investment to fully appreciate its mechanics and story. The game is most enjoyable in the early stages when new puzzles and loot are plentiful. Some reviewers also mention that the game never seems to find its footing.

Story/ending mixed reception: Some reviewers express disappointment with the story or ending, while others hope for a sequel or prequel to expand on the narrative. Some reviewers advise paying close attention to the story, dialogues, and notes. The ending is unsatisfying because it only confirms what was already known: there is no in-depth story.

Good immersive sim: Some reviewers recommend the game to those who enjoy immersive sims. The game is a solid faux-immersive sim. If you enjoy immersive sims, this game is a magnum opus of the genre.

Significant technical issues reported: A significant number of reviews mention technical issues, particularly crashing, freezing, and performance problems on PC. Many reviewers cannot recommend the game until these issues are resolved. Some reviewers have refunded the game due to these problems.

Unique retro-futuristic art style: The game features a distinct retro-futuristic aesthetic, blending 1960s-70s pop culture with advanced technology. Reviewers highlight the detailed environments, stylish visuals, and soundtrack that contribute to the game's unique atmosphere. However, some felt the style was overused.

Dishonored universe connection: The game is set in the Dishonored universe, sharing lore and design elements with the series. Fans of Dishonored may appreciate the connections, but some reviewers felt the game differs significantly in gameplay and doesn't fully capture the magic of previous Arkane titles. Some reviewers expressed disappointment.

Time loop on Blackreef island: The game takes place on the island of Blackreef, trapped in a time loop. The player's goal is to eliminate eight Visionaries to break the loop, a premise reminiscent of the TV series "Lost". The setting and core mechanic are central to the game's narrative and gameplay.

No further official support: The game studio, Arkane, is closed, meaning the game will not receive official patches to fix issues. This is a major concern for players who encounter bugs or other technical problems. This may impact the long-term playability of the game.

Poor onboarding and marketing: The game doesn't clearly indicate that the first two missions are tutorials, so players may waste time on them. Also, the number of levels in the game is few. The game is made for a certain type of player, which isn't inherently bad, but the marketing could have been more specific.