Deathloop, the upcoming action-adventure from Arkane Studios, is due to release September 14th 2021. With a radical concept, Deathloop promises to be one of the most unique games of the year. It's set on the island of Blackreef, which has been purposefully stuck in a time-loop that repeats every day.
Players take on the role of Colt "The Captain" Vahn, an assassin who is stuck in the time-loop with everyone else. Unlike the time-loop's creators, Colt looks at Blackreef as a prison, and wants to break the the Loop for good. He believes that he can do this by killing the eight Visionaries, architects of the Loop, within a single rotation. However, he's also being hunted by Deathloop's other playable character, Julianna Blake.
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Every morning, Deathloop's protoganist Colt Vahn wakes up on the beach of Blackreef Island. He has a hangover from a night before that he doesn't remember. In fact, he remembers nothing of his life before Blackreef, before the Loop. Players can expect to uncover the mystery of Colt's past over the course of Deathloop's campaign, or at least get some insights into it.
The one thing that Colt does remember is the previous Loops that he's experienced. In fact, he's one of only two people on Blackreef who retains memories of each Loop. Everyone else is convinced that each new day is the first day of the Loop, and enjoys it as a consequence-free party that'll never end.
Colt Vahn's driving ambition, and the main objective of Deathloop, is to end the Loop for good. To do this, he believes that he needs to kill the eight Visionaries who came up the Loop in the first place. Whatever Colt's mysterious past was, it's clear that he's no stranger to violence. Specializing in rifles and handguns, Colt is ruthless, hot-tempered, stubborn, and prepared to die as many times as it takes to finally break the Loop.
The only other character who retains their memories of each Loop is Julianna Blake. Julianna is one of the eight Visionaries in Deathloop, and her mission is to protect the cycle by killing Colt each day. Obviously this means she can't rest until Colt gives up, and if he never gives up she's going to have to keep hunting him eternally.
Fortunately for Julianna, she thinks that Blackreef and the Loop are paradise on earth, and is more than happy to hunt Colt with a smile. Julianna has a playful personality, and will banter with Colt both on the radio and in person. From her point of view, Colt is trying to ruin the fun for everyone else simply because he doesn't understand how lucky he is.
Every morning, at the same time that Colt is waking up on the beach, Julianna publicly labels him as a traitor. This turns everyone else on the island against him, meaning he'll be attacked on sight. From Julianna's perspective this only makes the hunt more exciting, as Colt is forced to go solo against Blackreef's entire population.
What's really interesting is the way that players will be able to take on the role of Julianna. If someone chooses to play as her, they'll take over her NPC in a random person's game, with the same objective of killing Colt. This gives players a chance to experience Deathloop from two sides, the driven Colt, and the fun-loving Julianna.
Deathloop launches September 14 for PC and PS5.