PlayStation 5 Critic Reviews

Deathloop is a game where observation and dynamic thinking go hand-in-hand with shotgunning goons in the face and snapping their necks ... it delivers bombastic thrills and wince-inducing kills with intelligence and elegance in equal measure.

Deathloop feels like the end result of an experiment that Arkane started with the release of Prey: Mooncrash. In many ways, it has successfully nurtured that genius nugget of an idea — a roguelike immersive simulator — into a AAA blockbuster. I am once again blown away by Arkane’s ambitions in game design, and how they manage to maintain them alongside such strong aesthetics, and compelling writing. This is an essential purchase if you value video games that expand the medium’s boundaries.

Deathloop is both unique and familiar, subverting time, gameplay and expectations in equal measure. A mystery worth solving and experience worth having, there is nothing on this planet quite like Deathloop.

Deathloop is not only one of the most conceptually ambitious and well executed games ever made, but Arkane's PlayStation swansong also has a boundless energy and ingenuity that no other game can match. Quite simply, Deathloop is an unparalleled synergy of first-person shooter design, explorative bliss and narrative complexity that we likely won't see again for a very, very long time.

Deathloop feels like your first bite of a cheesecake after being stranded on a desert island and living off seaweed for six months. In a sea of shotgun-spread triple-A games that are all too familiar, Deathloop is a precision 50. cal bullet of originality right through your eye socket.

Deathloop is the kind of game that will get in your head and stay there even when you’re not playing. Colt is a great protagonist, the intricate environmental design is a dream to explore, and the loop system keeps things fresh and offers so much replayability. Simply put, Deathloop is fantastic.

Deathloop is slick and inventive, with a delicious sense of style and humour. It distils Arkane’s hefty systems into something more explicitly playful, then leaves its sparkling cast to run riot in its huge interlocking puzzle of an island. One of the smartest and most outright entertaining games of the year.

Deathloop encases fun investigation work and satisfying combat in a unique time loop mechanic to create a tremendously satisfying adventure.

Taken as a single-player experience, Deathloop feels complete and incredibly well-rounded. The extra injection of optional multiplayer action is a fabulous cherry on top. Basically, Deathloop is everything I wanted it to be. It’s confident both as a successor to many of the ideas of Dishonored while also expressly its own thing, with a tone and sense of style I absolutely adore. It’s one of my favourite games of the year - and one we’ll surely be talking about for months to come.

There’s a lot to enjoy here and the banter between Colt and Julianna is entertaining in and of itself… Colt starting out being very unsure of himself (not even knowing who he is to start with) to (re)gaining his confidence and going on the offensive. There’s a lot of swearing and a lot of blood shed so this clearly isn’t for the younger gamers or those who are sensitive to such things… but for the rest of us this is a lot of fun!