Deathloop PS5 - What We Know So Far

Arkane Studios and Bethesda unveiled action-adventure Deathloop at E3 2019, before revealing more gameplay details at Sony's generally well-received Future of Gaming presentation in June 2020. At this point, the creators have shared enough information about the stylish, story-driven game to get players excited about its upcoming release. 

In Deathloop, you take on the role of an assassin living through the same day over and over again — that is, until you're able to take out the eight people maintaining the time loop that's keeping you trapped on the island of Blackreef. Unfortunately, there's another assassin trying to stop you and keep the loop intact. 

Arkane Studios is known for Prey and the Dishonored series, experience it's drawing on to create a title with plenty of action and a premise intended to blur the multiplayer-single player experience. From the release window to the gameplay, here's what you need to know about Deathloop.

As Deathloop is designed to leverage the PlayStation 5's state-of-the-art graphics, along with technologies such as haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, it will be a PlayStation 5 console launch exclusive. Deathloop will also release for Windows PCs. Announced as a timed exclusive, it may still come to Xbox Series X down the line, but that remains unclear at this point.

According to the PlayStation blog, Deathloop will arrive during the 2020 holiday season, but Bethesda hasn't shared a solid date yet. Given the launch window, Deathloop me be intended as a day-one game for Sony's new system. The PlayStation 5 still doesn't have a release date of its own, which seems to be why so few developers have revealed specific launch targets for their upcoming games.

The Deathloop World Premiere trailer from E3 2019 focused on the dichotomy between the two main characters: Colt and Julianna. Many gamers watching were sold on the concept the moment they realized Arkane Studios was involved. Still, the retro imagery and Quentin Tarantino and Dark Tower-like vibe didn't hurt.

The "Welcome to Blackreef" trailer gave prospective fans a closer look at the gameplay through the eyes of protagonist Colt. It sets up the plot with a few quick pieces of dialogue and does a good job of upping the hype factor. The music is on point, too. Both teasers stress the narrative, which provides some vital clues about how the mechanics will work. It also demonstrates that, like in previous Arkane games, the characters will use a combination of parkour moves, stealth, and a variety of weapons and attacks to get through the long day.

In Deathloop, you play a character stuck in a time warp, a la "Groundhog Day." Colt wakes up with a hangover on a beach every morning, and his goal before midnight is to take out the eight people maintaining the loop. Otherwise, he'll wake up inside it again. Bethesda says players will be able to take the knowledge they gain each day and apply it to the problem, but in the end they'll have to complete the entire mission in the time allotted. 

Naturally, Colt has some obstacles to face. The biggest is Julianna, who has a contrary goal to Colt's: she is trying to keep the time loop intact. Interestingly, she's also a playable character. "The focus is on the campaign and the story," game director Dinga Bakaba teased on the PlayStation Blog. "And that campaign can be played with Julianna controlled only by the AI, or — and this is our recommendation — by a mix of AI and random players to experience the range of unpredictability and chaos that Julianna is capable of."

This multiplayer element is optional, so you can have someone jump into your games as Julianna, or just play the campaign by yourself — a novel concept that helps distinguish Deathloop from previous Arkane titles.