HomeFeaturesDeathloop
I beg you, enable multiplayer in Deathloop and embrace mortalityStick your neck out
Stick your neck out
The dastardly multiplayer invasions ofDeathlooparesome murderous hijinks. But not everybody wants to see a player-controlled assassin with vicious human instincts pop up as they sneak through their time loop adventure. That’s fine, say developers Arkane, you can simply switch to single player mode, which will replace player incursions with periodic visits from an NPC Julianna who is (let’s be diplomatic) a less feisty opponent. I am here to ask, nay, beg: do not do this. Leave it in Online mode. Welcome malice, embrace pain, receive with warmth that sudden mortal stab in the back. You are strong and capable of overcoming such things. I’m not just giving you an ego boost here. As the tenacious Colt, the fight is fixed in your favour.
In theexcellent single player story, Julianna remarks how the infinitely recurring Colt only needs to get things right once, yet his Eternalist enemies have to stop him millions of times, every time. The same feeling extends to multiplayer, where Julianna’s frailty is clear and purposeful. For starters, Colt has two extra lives while Julianna has zero respawns. You’re already tougher. Equip the righttrinketsandslabs(like the Shift power and speedy sprint trinket) and you can easily become faster too. Invading Juliannas will often spend the opening minutes of a foray just looking for their quarry, or setting up an ambush. But not if you find her first.
Can Deathloop Kick It? Yes, It Can | My Fav Thing In… (Deathloop Review)Watch on YouTube
Can Deathloop Kick It? Yes, It Can | My Fav Thing In… (Deathloop Review)
You’re hesitant. I understand. Being invaded as a relaxed enjoyer of single player games is like receiving a hefty dose of horse stimulant in the middle of a silent art gallery. But that sudden spike of adrenaline can spark a sense of focus and grit. You’re forced to play slightly differently. As soon as I hear Julianna’s taunts on the intercom, I stop whatever I’m doing to go sort out the antenna.
Because, aha, killing Julianna isn’t even necessary to complete your objectives, you only have to escape safely into the tunnels. Arkane’s dense, intricate level design means that an exit is never far away. You can make it. Even if you don’t like the shooting match that often results from an invasion, you can still play this game of hide and seek. Keep moving. The tension of the hunt is its own reward. Or you can always sprint as fast as possible towards your rat tunnel, kicking and shoving every enemy along the way, in a bid to swiftly escape with whatever loot you’ve attained. Slipping away from a wolfish Julianna is sometimes more satisfying than gunning her down.
And you know what? In Online mode, it won’t always be another player anyway. NPC Jules still shows up from time to time. Part of the secret sauce is you won’t know whether this invader is a human maniac with proximity mines and a lust for blood, or a slightly wobbly AI with a cute habit of getting stuck on world geometry and loudly broadcasting her position with grumbles and swear words. You can figure it out, of course, especially in the NPC Julianna’s dottery moments. But that initial feeling of unease is a potent spice. Just the possibility that this is a human, with unpredictable behaviour and familiarity with the maps, is enough to juice up the loop, to create the high stakes that shouldn’t exist in an endlessly repeating world.
All of this combines to make even basic Colts a dangerous prey. I once broke cover and killed a Colt in a box room, then rigged his corpse with a proximity mine as I waited for my quarry to return to collect the lost energy from his flickering cadaver (explosive chicanery I learnedstraight from the game’s own director Dinga Bakaba). I waited. Colt didn’t appear. I opened a door to peek outside and stepped straight into the tripwire mine he’d placed across the threshold. Ah.
You’ll notice it’s not totally harmonious hide and seek. Matchmaking can sometimes take a while. As an invader, lag and disconnections are a significant issue. Rubber banding as Julianna makes grenades and mines particularly, uh, characterful. These problems don’t seem to appear when playing as Colt (probably because he’s the host). But they are troublesome.
And this is the last reason I ask you not to clog up your information pipes with cotton wool. Deathloop’s multiplayer needs you. Yes you, Joe Single Player.
The longer we get from the game’s release date, the harder it will get for multiplayer murder lovers to find a match, as many single player one-and-dones who help make the hunt possible finish the game. Their adorable lamb-like frolics into the loop will be set aside as they reasonably decide they are done with the story, and don’t feel the need to play more. Add to that the fact that only certain times and places are available for invasion, and you see how quickly the Colt numbers will dwindle. Fellow Juliannas, we are hunting an endangered species.
So in an effort to keep the beauty of this mode alive for as long as possible. Please, single player Coltists. I humbly request: stay in Online mode. I’m not just saying this so I can kick you to death and get an achievement for laying the boot in (although I bloody will). I’m saying it to make your game better too. Snort the horse stimulant. Embrace the sweet inevitability of death, the uncertainty of your future. You have speed and brutality and swift reprisal where Julianna only has tricks. Second chances where she only has critical failures. Cherish the multiplayer of Deathloop while you can, it’s special. And unlike the loop, it won’t last forever.
