Deathloop Trailer a Crash Course in Navigating an Endless Time Loop

After dropping a flashy new Deathloop trailer sound-tracked to a catchy, Bond-esque anthem that brought some much-needed spice to Sony’s paltry State of Play last week, developer Arkane Studios has regaled fans with yet another trailer. This time, the focus is on getting players up to speed with the endless time loop’s intricacies that define the PS5 and PC exclusive’s gameplay. Rather appositely, game director Dinga Bakaba presents the ‘Deathloop Explained‘ trailer in a series of repeating time loops, each time offering new details on the game’s basic premise.

Arkane positions Deathloop, at its most basic, as a murder puzzle game where the player must successfully take down eight targets, known as Visionaries, in a single loop. Easier said than done, given that these Visionaries seem pretty happy with the immortality afforded by an endless loop. And, there’s also the rather pressing problem of a rival assassin called Julianna. Unpredictable, clever, and powerful, she’s out to get the player.

Pulling Off The Perfect Murdering Spree in Deathloop

As the trailer explains, each loop isn’t a blind reset. Players carry over weapons, supernatural abilities, weapon-modifying artifacts, and, more importantly, the knowledge gathered about the targets, as well as the four districts and the four-time periods that makeup Deathloop‘s Blackreef island setting.

The key to success is bringing all eight targets together to land a series of well-timed assassinations before the loop ends. Knowledge is effectively power, as the idiom goes, and vital to piecing together the ultimate murdering spree.

While time is a central theme in Deathloop, Bakaba notes that its ‘always on your side,’ suggesting that despite the loop mechanic, the game affords players ample scope to explore Blackreef and unearth its mysteries.

As it stands, Arkane has Deathloop penciled in for release on May 21, 2021.