4.5/5 ★ – Kalle_Deimos's review of DEATHLOOP.

TLDR: Ive been waiting to play this for a long time and it was worth it. Wholly original and great from start to finish. Gameplay: Death Loop is extremely rewarding for gamers who love worldbuilding and gaining knowledge. A lot of the gameplay is reliant on the story, so I may be repeating some things here. What Arkane does best is level design, and although the four levels you explore are pretty small, they run deep. Coming back to see the differences between the 4 time periods as well is a good way to see something new. Gunplay is good with a decent variety of guns paired with the slabs which will really affect your playstyle. Unlike Dishonored where you can have every single power at your disposal and wreak havoc, now you can only have two at a time. Which is a good way to encourage changing up your playstyle but I always wanted shift in my aresenal because of how imperative it felt. Imagine playing Dishonored without ever using Blink. It's just not possible. I would've maybe preferred just one more power slot... Also getting into firefights was never something I wanted to do because it was your standard shooter affair. But it still is pretty good. I also thought there would be a final act type level, just to give you an extra rush before the very end but there wasn't. That's the worst DeathLoop has to offer honestly, just small weird things like that. Story: I got a real kick out of the story more than any other aspect of the game. Like I said in gameplay, DeathLoop is rewarding for players who like to seek things out and discover details on their own. Not everyone plays like that so I can imagine that a significant amount of players did not get the full picture during their playthrough. The time loop plot can be a bit confusing but it's not something you're supposed to take SUPER seriously anyway. Learning about the characters over-time is a lot of fun and you're drip-fed this information throughout your playthrough. I began to anticipate the scheduled messages running through Blackreef and still enjoyed hearing them after 10+ times. It helps that the antagonists are an entire cast of characters who have unique behaviors, personalities and interactions with each other. I felt like I grew with Colt during his journey. Getting smarter and understanding the enemy. This is what DeathLoop set out to do, and this is what it achieved. AND I really like what they did with the ending. I became attached to all the characters, villains included, and was glad to see that they didn't brutally destroy them in some horrific fashion. Graphics: Arkane has a specefic visual style that they use in their titles and I think DeathLoop does it the best. Of course the game looks graphically good (minus some janky up-close models) but the use of colors really makes this game pop out. The 60's style architecture and iconography seen throughout the game gives it more visual flair. I was very excited to see those post-mission cutscenes after figuring out something big. Sound: Once again, the voice acting is amazing. Every single character too. Probably becuase they knew we'd be hearing the same voice lines over and over again. Music is pretty good. Sound effects are PUNCHY, especially for the FourPounder. Extra: There's so much to discover through your playthrough. Wether it's different ways to take our your target, sidequests or unlocking rare weapons, there's a ton to see and do in Blackreef. Favorite Thing: There's a voice activated password that Colt tries to guess and there's like over 30 different voicelines for him trying to guess it and they're all funny. Not My Favorite Thing: When I first started playing the UI gave me a HEADACHE. I got used to it and came to appreciate it as a good UI but something about it messed with my eyes.