There’s a moment in Deathloop when it all clicks. Not a specific moment. It’s likely at different points for every person, but eventually, players will figure out the game’s various puzzles and mechanics. Deathloop will finally click.
That specific moment alone is almost enough to warrant consideration for game of the year.
Deathloop’s premise is relatively simple: You’re Colt, trapped on the island Blackreef, which itself is trapped in a timeloop. To get out of this hell, you must kill eight targets, breaking the loop. You have to do this within 24 hours. If you fail, you start over.
It’s simple in explanation, but in execution, meticulous and complicated. In the first few hours of Deathloop, you fumble around with its weapons, powers, and intricate levels, trying to stay alive long enough to reach one target; the idea of killing eight feels like a pipedream wrapped in wishful thinking.
Over time, that objective becomes manageable. And then eventually, it clicks; all the puzzle pieces slide into place. The game no longer stands in your way. Deathloop becomes your playground of destruction and bloodshed.
Deathloop excels in that mechanical payoff. Flying through levels that initially took hours, commanding its action, and finally pulling off the final heist is satisfying in ways few other games are.
After finishing Deathloop, it is hard to resist starting a second playthrough. We wanted to fly through the early levels that gave us so many headaches, continuing to bend its world around our fingers. If you’re patient enough to accept Deathloop’s rules and terms, once the game gives you the keys to the castle, there’s not much else like the ensuing mayhem. | Our Review
