Deathloop creators may never make a linear campaign like Dishonored again, and that's fine

RPS : We talk to Dinga Bakaba and Dana Nightingale about Deathloop, finding their playful side and why their Dishonored days might be over.

[Crows90]

Well...it's fine. But it's also a huge loss. Their recen titles havent been better games.

[SimpleSlave]

That would suck since they are one of the few developers doing the type of games like Dishonored and Prey. I think that doing the Dishonored/Prey main game and then creating a DLC like Prey: Mooncrash sounds like a more sensible solution instead.

Bah!

[sourOG]

Agreed. Probably not the most lucrative though. Immersive sims don’t sell apparently which sucks. it’s my favorite type of game. Handcrafted environmental storytelling.

[SimpleSlave]

Which is mind-boggling to me. Dishonored and Prey are best in class type games. Where you can most often than not, play them any way you want. Stealth, Magic, Doom style pew-pew, or a mixture of them. Plus this type of gameplay lend itself perfectly to the sort of organic set pieces that create those "holly shit!" moments. Not to mention, as you said, the handcrafted environments and environment storytelling is usually second to none.

While I loved Mooncrash as a DLC, I didn't quite saw it near the same level as Prey in any way shape or form. Deathloop looks great for sure but the whole rinse and repeat, meh. Just as Mooncrash, it becomes more about memorization and going as fast as possible in order to do all the things you know you need to do before the time expire or you die, instead of taking your time and enjoy the game at your leisure. And this type of repetition tends to force you to take long ass breaks between playing sessions. At least it did to me. At the end I was just in auto-pilot, doing what I knew I needed to do in order to get to the next section. It just lost the luster. As a DLC is fine but as a $60 game? Not for me.

I don't really get it. But still, will a Deathloop/Mooncrash type game yield better sales? Maybe it did. Maybe this is a streaming generation thing and I just don't get it. But with not many other studios doing this type of game, I believe this will be a huge loss to gaming in the long run. We'll see I guess...

[CBaoth]

but then again, Deathloop sucked. It was agenda driven for the high scores. When a whole subset of gamers gets to play the game in Sept for free, they'll see for themselves. The whole frat boy theme tanked the game. Talk about irony. Even Bill Murray got tired of partying in Groundhog Day. Biggest disappointment so far this gen.

Did you read the article Sour? Sadly it doesn't look like you'll ever get sequels to Prey and Dishonored. That's ok too, sounds like the one creator is a world class imbecile anyway. He specifically references "assassins" and says some people like to Rambo. They don't like to sneak, plan, execute, and slip away. THEN they're not assassins! This aint the game for them. This guy must think of ninja and think of games like Gaiden or Nioh. I would love to play a Tenchu type game with Hitman missions like adorning chef's clothes and poison the Diamyo. Our only hope - prey the Splinter Cell remake is great

[sourOG]

It will make the revival that much sweeter my friend. There is a market, we’re not widespread, dumb or easy either. There’s always a chance of a lucky “elden ring boost” but they actually have to work for our approval and it’s a chore and not worth 85% of the time. But someone will do it. Someone is hungry. Atomic heart looks dope. Some hungry small time Russian dev. A new bioshock is in the works but without Levine so that’s still up in the air. But they are trying is the point.

Yeah deathloop was okay but it’s not on the same level. In something like dishonored, playing different completely changed the game. Deathloop is more like a rogue like than an immersive sim to me.

[-Foxtrot]

Kind of shitty

There’s nothing wrong with linear games like Dishonored

I liked Deathloop but despite being open you only had 4 locations, sure you had different times of the day which changed things but it was still the same maps at their core.

Least when Dishonored did some backtracking for story purposes it really changed the map and the way you thought about it as it was woven into the overall story

Not everything needs to be open world, I feel Redfall could have been more appealing if they made it a single player, linear game like Dishonored

[porkChop]

Personally I think RedFall looks a lot more enjoyable than Deathloop. I didn't care for it at first but the gameplay at the Xbox + Bethesda showcase really sold me on it. It seems like the immersive sims Arkane is known for, but blended together with Borderlands co-op.

I still want Arkane to make their traditional immersive sims though. That's what they're known for.

[Orchard]

I feel like MS will have them make a Dishonored title or something very similar. They would be leaving a lot of cash on the table otherwise.

[frank_a]

I hope MS gives the Dishonored franchise to a different studio, a studio that respects the IP and actually wants to make this game. These people (with all due respect) became too arrogant with all their success throughout the years and now just want to make artsy, groundbreaking games. Things players don't care about. I care about being entertained with an interesting experience, I don't care about their ego. So a smaller studio, with something to prove, and a love for the IP could do a better job.

[0hMyGandhi]

I literally thought at least half of your comment was being sarcastic.

[MrBaskerville]

The reason they stopped making Dishonored is that both games sold lile crap. Same goes for Prey. It sucks, but that's the reality of the situation.

That's probably the reason why they are now doing a coop looter shooter, those games tend to sell.

[Ashunderfire86]

I didn’t like Deathloop and regret buying it digital smh 🤦‍♂️ Just too repetitive for my liking. I feel like I accomplished nothing with the weird style of gameplay time loop smh 🤦‍♂️

[frank_a]

Probably because you didn't follow the LINEAR mission structure they give you. The game is so confusing and convoluted that if they don't hold your hand throughout the whole thing, your experience becomes repetitive and boring. But if you follow the missions, one after the other, in a linear fashion, you'll experience an interesting 7-10 hour story. Which makes this the more linear game they have ever made.

[Ashunderfire86]

Yea I did follow kill a certain amount of enemy targets before the next day or else I start over. Plus it doesn’t help that the menu to checkout the mission was a bit too confusing and words where too small and I have an 4K screen.

I stick with Dishonored 1 and 2 better games that are straight to the point, which was the company’s other awesome titles.

Maybe I will look 👀 on a YouTube tutorial for dummies if I feel like paying this game again. Right now I am loving PSN Premium where I am playing Ghost of Tsushima, Guardians of The Galaxy, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake on PS5 for free. Hey PSPlus is definitely not Gamepass, but it truly helps with you catching up on games you never got a chance to play.

[frank_a]

Is this a joke? Deathloop is the most linear game they've ever made. They literally spoon feed you step-by-step what to do or else you get lost. It's proof that this game design they supposedly have so much fun making is broken and unplayable without holding the player's hands.

In addition, who even played the multiplayer? What a waste of development time and creative man power.

And all of this is coming from someone who really enjoyed Deathloop. But please, this game is nowhere near the excellence of Dishonored 1 and 2, and Prey.

[arkard]

Exactly. I had fun with deathloop but in the end I was pretty disappointed with the hand holding. Also for all the hype about how levels change based on when you visit them, you can only beat the game 1 way. You HAVE to visit certain levels at certain times or you can't beat the game. I was hoping for a more open ended set up and take down.

[frank_a]

You said it all! Even if you didn't use the hand holding missions to finish the game and you figured it all out yourself through the clues or whatever, there is still only 1 way to finish the game. There is no alternate clever way to get all visionaries killed on one loop.

I really enjoyed this game, but was very disappointed because ultimately I thought this would be a spiritual successor of Mooncrash, which I loved and thought was the natural evolution of Arkane's immersive sim game design.

[MadLad]

That's what I don't get.
You read the actual article and all of a sudden the title makes no sense.

It still very much sounds like they're interested in making immersive sims.

[anast]

Then I can't wait for their next branching RPG, which is not going to happen.

[CrimsonWing69]

That is far from fine.

[jznrpg]

Not fine imo .They are the best games they made .

[EazyC]

Linear games are my favourite but seem to be a dying breed.