Deathloop - Arkane Lyon's new title preview

Although there was no absolute certainty that one of their titles would appear on the Los Angeles stage, E3 2019 also saw the new work of the French of Arcane Lyon of Lyon. It is about Deathloop, a video game that for the first time in the recent history of these developers abandons a purely single player structure, moving on to mechanics devoted to multiplayer. This new IP made its appearance in world premiere during the conference of Bethesda, and the same company following the reveal provided us with the official synopsis dedicated to Deathloop:

Deathloop takes players to the lawless island of Blackreef in an eternal battle between two expert assassins. Explore incredibly beautiful environments and meticulously designed levels in an immersive experience that allows you to handle each situation however you want. Hunt down targets on the island to end the cycle once and for all. And remember the saying: If you don't make it the first time… die, die again.

However, at present the information regarding this intriguing face to face with death is not very much, and is limited to this information and the video shown on the stage in Los Angeles. So let's analyze and, in some cases, even hypothesize what this new interesting title can offer us.

Death cycle

As you have already read, in Deathloop we will experience the multiplayer battle between two deadly assassins, located on the island of Black Reef. In this place, however, things do not flow in the natural way we can expect, because it is placed in a kind of time loop. The video shown us was made in computer graphics, and the gameplay phases will hardly reflect what we have seen; however, if there is one quality that the French team can boast of, it is the incredible quality with which the details are made, from the settings, to the characters, to the polygons, to the colors. Therefore, the quality of these images is excellent, merging art, temptation and restlessness in one thing.

Another trademark that is once again disruptive is the unhealthy feeling of dystopia that has always characterized Arkane's works: here is the return of style retro already seen in the Dishonored series, coupled with the agonizing mental suffocation brought to us by the feeling that there is no way out. This is exactly what it is, an infinite cycle that will see us die, and die again. As far as we know, to carry out these assassinations we will be able to exploit, as in the aforementioned Dishonored, but in a much more fluid and dynamic way, different weapons and powers to put our opponents in check. Here then appear both ranged and melee weapons, but also the most disparate powers such as the inevitable teleportation and who knows what other "devilry". The basic idea of ​​all Arkane games has always been “Do what you want, do what you want”, and in fact Deathloop will not be outdone.

What is not yet clear, however, is how gameplay of this type and the plot will merge, especially since what we have seen so far clearly reveals that the two characters seen in the trailer are driven by totally opposing motivations. , and have totally different goals. The hypotheses that can arise are different: we will have to do with the choice of one faction? Will we live two parallel stories in a narrative mode detached from the multiplayer one? And clearly, how was Black Reef born? And why this infinite loop? To better understand how the lives of Colt "The Captain" e Julianna “Jules” Blake however, we will have to wait for further information from the publisher and the studio.

In conclusion we can say that the resolutions are many and also good, by making people sit down Deathloop in the small round table of interesting surprises that peeped out at E3 2019. If we then calculate that the only thing out of the question regarding the titles produced by the Lyon studio is quality, there will only be that pinch of marketing strategy that always has marked (partly due to overcrowding, partly due to bad luck) the weak link of their productions. Stay tuned for new information!