by RootSec
In Deathloop, players will be tasked with assassinating eight visionaries, each bent on achieving eternal life. As Colt, it’s the only way he can escape the Deathloop that sees himself constantly hunted by the inhabitants of Blackreef. Using an array of weapons and super-powers, he has to assassinate the eight targets before midnight or the loop begins again. To make things exponentially worse, he is being hunted by an equally skilled assassin named Julianna who is tasked with killing Colt before he can end the loop. As players might expect, this dynamic sets the game up for a unique multiplayer experience.
Julianna has the ability to disguise herself as other enemies and uses a range of rifles to protect the loop, as she sees that as her life’s purpose. Jules is surely an equally formidable foe to protagonist Colt and will set up the game’s multiplayer features. As Colt runs through Blackreef, he will have to watch out for the other player character as they take the role of Julianna. It will be much harder to kill all the targets in one loop when the player is constantly being chased down by another player assassin.
There is no telling how the game will keep Julianna from spawn killing the Colt player, whether those are randomized or not, but players can always turn off the multiplayer feature if that becomes an issue. If the player chooses to do that, Julianna will be replaced by an AI character. It will be interesting to see how the AI compares to the multiplayer counterparts, and what happens if the Julianna player leaves halfway through a loop. If the player kills Julianna, one has to wonder what happens to the user playing her. It would be cool if Julianna was immediately put into a new loop in a different player’s game, emphasizing the importance of survival.
Colt and Julianna will use parkour, guns, and special abilities to kill each other. While Colt has to influence the different visionaries to be in the same place at the same time, it seems that Julianna will always be right there, available for Colt to strike against when the time is right. Being the only two characters capable of remembering the time loops, it makes sense based on these two characters’ designs that they would be the ones with a rivalry that spans timelines.
This dynamic between the two characters hunting each other in a loop is definitely a new one to gaming. As long as Julianna and Colt are on equal playing fields, it can allow for some truly unique and innovative gaming moments. Seeing as Cole seems to be a fully fleshed out and immersive character through which to experience Deathloop’s story, fans should be able to expect something similar from Julianna. The island doesn’t reset for Julianna when Cole dies in the lore, so it would seem that the game doing so if Colt dies would be less immersive for the Julianna players.
Seeing as Deathloop has been delayed recently, fans will have to wait a little longer before they plant their feet on Blackreef. That being said, the fascination with the game concept has only grown, especially with fans getting a taste of the death loop mechanic in another game, Returnal. While the looping mechanics will likely be different in Deathloop, players can’t wait to explore them in the upcoming game. Whether they play as Colt or hunt down the player as Julianna, fans will be perfecting their assassination techniques in no time.
Deathloop is launching September 14 for PC and PlayStation 5.
