Arkane Studios’ Deathloop has been looking more and more sumptuous with each subsequent update. The overall structure and how protagonist Colt will go about assassinating on targets on Blackreef isle have been detailed here. But what’s interesting is that every loop won’t be a 1:1 recreation of those before.
In an interview for the February 2021 issue of PlayStation Official Magazine UK, game director Dinga Bakaba noted that, “This time loop is a dirty process. There is a limit to this, so an experienced player will know about all of the computations. These are rare, and most targets have a predictability.” For example, a Visionary may try to kill you during one time loop and be killed, only to experience “deja vu” in the next and refrain from making the same mistake. Things can change on the fly and players will need to adapt accordingly.
Bakaba also spoke a bit about something else that’s “influencing” the island and allows Colt to bend the rules. “Very early on Colt will find that this island has a few weird rules and the time loop is not the only thing influencing the island.” This allows for upgrades, new weapons, powers and perks, though he added that “it’s not a roguelike.” The ability to “build an arsenal” seems to indicate that Colt can unlock and specifically choose which weapons and abilities to equip for the next run without any randomness.
Deathloop is out on May 21st for PS5 and PC. Bakaba noted previously that it has “quite chunky campaign” for those who can dig into it. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.