French studio with an almost irreproachable CV (Arx Fatalis, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, Dishonored, Prey…), Arkane was bought by Microsoft, via Zenimax, on March 9th. And yet it is indeed an exclusive PS5 consoles that the studio presented to us a few days ago. The game will also be released on PC, but the Xbox Series will be (temporarily?) Deprived of it. We were able to see a good half hour of gameplay and were able to talk to Dinga Bakaba and Sébastien Mitton, respectively game director and artistic director of this promising Deathloop.
First of all, note that this presentation took place online, via a video stream captured on PS5 and broadcast in 1080p. We will therefore refrain from judging the purely graphic and technical qualities of the game, which can only be fully appreciated with the joysticks in hand. On the other hand, we can already reassure you about the good performance of the artistic direction, who seems to use brilliantly all the clichés of spy films, the 60s, and spy films of the 60s! The developers cite the James Bond, Tarantino films or Point Blank (that of 1967) as references. As good geeks that we are, the aesthetics and atmosphere of the game reminded us above all of those of No One Lives Forever, Evil Genius or even Austin Powers, with a parody aspect a priori less extensive than in these different titles. Orange color, square shapes, plush sofas, colorful outfits and other psychedelic wallpapers still answer the call. The whole thing is also reminiscent of the visuals of Dishonored and Prey, which is obviously a good thing. The Arkane paw is there! Even in the gameplay, moreover, since Deathloop is indeed an “immersive sim” in the first person, as we like them.
COLT AND COLTS
Proof of this is that Colt, the hero of the game, has all the bells and whistles, gadgets and supernatural powers. The arsenal includes machetes, pistols, submachine guns, machine guns, rifles, shotguns, silent nail guns, and multi-purpose grenades that can also be used as mines. It is possible to take advantage of certain weapons in “double handling”, but the best seems all the same to shoot with the right hand while holding a Hackamajig in the left hand. This electronic device can unlock certain doors, create distractions (for example by ringing a telephone) and even hack automatic turrets into turning on their owners. BioShock, Deus Ex and Dishonored are not far away! “Trinkets” (“trinkets” in VO) of different rarities also allow you to obtain various bonuses (faster aim, more ammunition, quieter movements, etc.), while the artifacts called Slabs are responsible for providing superpowers to Colt.
The Resume ability allows him, for example, to go back in time twice on death, the third failure being fatal. Transposition is an environmental teleportation very similar to what we have already seen in Dishonored. Ether makes the hero invisible to enemies like lasers. Chaos allows him to absorb damage received and then return it as a destructive explosion. Karnesis is used to throw enemies into the air. And Nexus creates a link between different enemies, so that they share the same fatal fate (“one bullet, three deaths”, that’s a necessarily pleasant concept). The gameplay possibilities are therefore as numerous as they are varied, and all types of players should find their account, from the nag who seeks FPS sensations to the deceit who prefers to approach enemies from behind to assassinate them from a well-placed stab … or simply push them into the void.
AN ENDLESS DAY
But Deathloop has more than one trick up its sleeve, and doesn’t just copy a recipe that has been tried and tested in the past. Thanks to a concept of time loop and targets to be assassinated, Arkane Studios’ latest addition takes on the air of reverse Cluedo, in that you have to find the right way, the right place and the right time to act. Like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day (“an endless day” for Anglophobes), Colt relives the same day over and over again. To put an end to this curse and finally break the loop, our hero must manage to kill eight very determined characters (the Visionaries), who hide among many followers (the Eternalists). Each day is divided into four time periods (morning, noon, afternoon and evening) while the targets can be found in four different large maps (The Complex, Updaam, Fristad’s Rock, Karl’s Bay). The combination then comes into play, especially since each zone differs according to the time of day, since certain places may or may not be accessible, while the Visionaries regularly change their location. It will therefore be necessary to learn as best as possible to be able to unearth and then assassinate the targets. The information can be obtained by reading messages, listening to audio recordings or even snooping on conversations.
Does the concept still seem a bit hazy to you? Don’t panic, the gameplay session revealed during this preview gives a good example of these principles. At this precise moment, Colt’s target is Aleksis Dorsey, a socialite who likes to organize masked parties in his luxurious home at the end of the day. After having run on the roofs, unearthed shortcuts and eliminated some guards, our hero arrives on the scene. He can then choose to take out the guns and kill everyone, just to be certain of reaching Aleksis, who is necessarily among the masked participating numbers. The developers tell us that this extremely steep path, which almost borders on anti-gaming, is difficult but possible. Obviously, it is better to play it thin, especially since there is never only one way to hit each target. Thus, Colt can find in private messages the code of a safe, which gives him access to valuable information: the master of the place must give a speech during the evening. Then all you have to do is find the platform and wait for the right conditions to strike. But that’s not all ! In order to optimize the day, the player must succeed in gathering as many targets as possible in the same place and at the same time. In this case, the Visionary Egor Serling was also invited to this evening. But during the afternoon, this scientist made a major discovery that will finally get his full attention. Armed with this information, the player can then optimize the next time loop, sabotaging the experience in the afternoon so that in the evening, Igor and Aleksis both participate in the party.
FATAL WOMAN
The passing of time is therefore our ally and not our enemy. The developers want to clarify that the complexity due to the combinations of times and places is entirely their responsibility and not those of the players. They will be able to skip each “day shift” if they wish, stay as long as necessary in each of these time slots, or even fall in a loop on a conversation or a crucial information that they would have missed. from previous attempts. In addition, they will have indicators to follow and, above all, will become better informed and stronger after each loop. Much like a rogue-like, every failure is a new and better start. With the help of a mysterious resource called Residuum, Cold will be able to keep certain weapons, trinkets and powers from one loop to another, while “re-killing” a target in a new loop will allow you to obtain a better reward. In any case, our hero will have to beware of Julianna who, even if she is part of the list of potential victims, is not quite a Visionary like the others. This young woman is indeed responsible for protecting the loop and, as such, stalks Colt as much as Colt stalks her. This adds a little more salt to the adventure! When Julianna is in the area, an audible alert sounds for the player, who must then be extra vigilant. We imagine that in the event of a direct confrontation, it may also be necessary to postpone (understand “in a next loop”) the current assassination projects.
Ultimate refinement: by default Julianna is controlled by artificial intelligence like all other NPCs, but she can also be played by another player if desired! Completely optional, this multi option therefore allows everyone to become Julianna for the duration of a game, and thus invade that of another player. Let’s finish this first overview of Deathloop with a few words on the exclusivity of PS5 consoles, which should be taken advantage of by the game. The management of haptic feedback is indeed planned, as well as that of adaptive triggers. We are promised that each weapon will offer different sensations in the hand. Additionally, the game will run in adaptive 4K, 60 frames per second, with HDR enabled. Finally, the lack of an “old-gen” version apparently allowed developers to create very extensive maps, with fast loading avoiding having to artificially separate levels into different sections.
