Deathloop

Publisher Bethesda Softworks

Developer Arkane Studios

Format PC, PS5 (tested)

Release Out now

Colt wakes up on the beach again, his latest death fresh in the memory. But while he’s nursing an infinitely looping hangover and mourning his demise at the business end of a shotgun, you have a fresh batch of ideas to think on. Yesterday might have brought a glimpse of some unexplored path in a level you thought you knew backwards, an epiphany about one of Blackreef Island’s many mysteries, or just some new way of wreaking havoc you’re keen to try.

So you apply those ideas, test theory against practice, and – one way or another – end up back on that beach. Even if you do manage to survive through a full day, there’s nothing left to do but let night pass into morning, and begin this murderous Groundhog Day all over again. Although, as with every rule in Deathloop, there’s an exception. If Colt can manage to kill his seven targets – the band of scientists, creatives and billionaires responsible for Blackreef’s loop, collectively known as the Visionaries – within a single loop, you might finally get to see tomorrow.

As you’d expect, this is no easy feat. And not only because you’re hugely outnumbered, starting the day with just an SMG and a double-jump to your name – there’s also the matter of logistics to consider. Days are divided into four: morning, noon, afternoon, evening. Blackreef, too: Updaam, Karl’s Bay, Fristad Rock, The Complex.