PS: Having played a lot more Julianna since writing this interview, there is another criticism around her portion of Deathloop. The game can sometimes suffer appalling rates of ``rubberbanding``, where everything lags and stutters. Whoever is playing as Colt acts as a temporary internet host, and if they have a middling connection, then your experience will be incredibly frustrating. It's one thing to wait ages to join a match, but then to spend your play time unable to do basic things like opening a door because the game keeps hopping back a microsecond to when it was shut? As much fun as I have invading games, there is maybe a 1/4 chance that each time you will experience the above, or simply get booted out of the game when their internet connection goes down. Fortunately Julianna's element is only a small portion of the game, but until this gets fixed I would recommend going into it with diminished expectations.
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The End is Never the End is Never the End is Never
A guy wakes up on a beach, hungover, and quickly learns it is his life mission to stop himself waking up on a beach, hungover. He is Colt, a man trapped on a Hebridean Island where - due to the machinations of some wacky scientists - he is stuck in a Ground Hog Day situation where the same day perpetually repeats itself. Only by killing all eight of the people responsible, all within the same day, can he he stop the World looping over to his next beach hangover.
Deathloop is more silly and gung-ho than Arkane's previous sneakier titles Prey and Dishonored, and for once it feels like no one is going to wag a finger at you for having as much fun as you can with the cool weapons and super powers provided. And yet despite having the reins taken off, killing people isn't really the main focus of the game. It's really about exploring time and space, solving the mysteries of Deathloop's tiny world, and trying to work out the one interconnecting series of events that have to take place that gets the eight targets, or "visionaries", all in one place. It is a backwards detective game for murderers; a How-Do-It?
The biggest achievement of Deathloop is its ability to avoid feeling repetitive, in spite of its own premise. Enemies are very easy to kill, but that's specifically to ensure you don't get bogged down as you are moving from one lead to the next. If you want difficultly, that comes in the form of one of the visionaries, Julianna, who is actively trying to assassinate you first. You have the option of deciding whether she is AI or human player controlled. I quickly selected the former after discovering how utterly imbalanced these player versus player elements can be; there's nothing to stop a human Julianna with 100 hours game experience and every weapon and power unlocked from kicking the ass of a brand new Colt player. This in turn means there is a big shortage of Colt players willing to try the multiplayer option for any length of time, and so most of my experience as Julianna has been spent sitting in the lobby, waiting 5-10 minutes between fights.
Deathloop is one of the most beautiful, detailed and intricate games I've ever played. It's what We Happy Few wanted so much to look like; a madcap 60s/70s Avengers style caper where everything is equal parts funky and kitschy, complete with a banging mod and rocker soundtrack. Whereas previous Arkane games can be a bit of a let down when it comes to character work, Deathloop has some thoroughly brilliant and hilarious interactions, especially between Colt and Julianna, who start every morning jeering at each other over the radio. I'm glad that Arkane have finally managed to get its human elements as polished as the rest of its stellar creative design. I had a blast with Deathloop, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it, and I look forward to the day I get to invade your game as Julianna and murder you over and over.