Arkane Studios has long been one of my favorite developers, occupying the rare space in the pantheon where no matter what they put out, no matter what direction they choose for their newest game, I know that I will play it and probably enjoy it. Dishonored and Dishonored 2 were both level design and power fantasy treats, while Prey took a space station alien invasion plot in very interesting and surprising directions. But despite the permissive, play-your-way game design at the core of these great games, I always tend to play them the same way. Sneak around, plan a route, sneak around in the shadows or along rooftops or hanging structures, quicksave, get caught, quickload, and try again. Despite having the tools to go loud and cause mayhem, I always default to the quiet play style.
Enter Deathloop. In a world that resets at the end of each day, why not throw caution to the wind? That's the question that Deathloop is asking, both mechanically and thematically. Its characters are a collection of the worst people possible, and your (the player's) mistakes are wiped clean at the end of each day. Why not have a little fun? Deathloop is a flawed game, but it scores one resounding victory over its predecessors- it's finally more fun to go loud.
Joining me to discuss Deathloop in episode 39 of Tales from the Backlog is Morgan Remington, a Twitch streamer and pocaster and captain of the Intergalactic Pinecone. Morgan streams all kinds of games, but you can find all kinds of Nintendo games, from Donkey Kong Country to Monster Hunter over on his streams. You can check out Morgan and all things Intergalactic Pinecone on Twitch, on YouTube, on Twitter, and on Instagram.
You can listen to episode 39 of Tales from the Backlog (Deathloop) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!