The worst thing that ever could've happened ended up being the 10 it received from IGN. We'll all be dead and gone before reactionary gamers stop being contrarian to games media because they're games media.

This isn't me saying Deathloop is a 10 for me, and it very very likely won't be a 10 for you either. The idea that a 10/10 game is something that is flawless is...flawed and not a realistic expectation for subjective media. The IGN reviewer enjoyed the game enough to give it a 10, and I'd much rather live in a world of games journalism where reviewers say "screw it, I love/hate this thing" and will review it as such.

Now to get on topic and discuss what *I* think about Deathloop-Its great! Deathloop offers a really nice fusion of classic Arkane mechanics, and the looping mechanic allows players to get the sensations of mastery that Dishonored is known for, but without the need to replay the game.

As is the case with the rest of Arkane's work, if you aren't interested in sneakily reading text documents to get the actual world building, you aren't going to like the narrative. Deathloop's ending is going to be received acceptably at best, and hated at worst, so it needs other aspects to do some heavy lifting. The VA work is fantastic, as Visionaries ride balances between pathetic and evil while Colt and Juliana have some performative depth. The writing itself is mostly good with some occasional self-indulgence but the true star is the world building tucked away (sorta) in audio logs and notes lying around. The story's Nonlinear progression means that pacing will be different for everybody, however unless you purposefully exploit the game to brute force through narrative gates, it all unfolds at a mostly natural pace.

Dishonored 1 is a masterclass in the way it crammed interesting secrets and world building into a tight package, but the linear nature of the games structure meant that most players would miss A LOT of the best hidden stuff on their own natural playthroughs. One of the successes of Deathloop is that it's cyclical nature means you're you're given multiple chances to actually see the cool stuff. This cycle has led to some people (fairly) finding the game a bit repetitive. I found this to be less of an issue than some people, as the way the maps changed based on time of day and what active visionaries were there were enough to keep me engaged through each loop gameplay wise

Continuing with gameplay, the gunplay is far and away the best Arkane has crafted. Guns are fun and unique, offensive abilities synergize well and are a blast to use, and the increased emphasis on action really allows the combat to shine. Not to say stealth isn't a valid option- it ended up being my favorite way to play by the end, but both felt equally good and valid.

The most common critique I've seen directed towards Deathloop is the intelligence of the AI. It's pretty dumb AI, and thusly the game is a bit easier to avoid detection in than your classic stealth game. The game would've benefited from Dishonored 2 styled custom difficulty settings, but in a game where progress can be reset, tending towards easy was probably the smart choice for wider audiences if fixed difficulty was the design decision. "Loop Stress" is a mechanic that remedies difficulty somewhat as the AI gets agressive/better as you kill Visionaries more than you die, but this difference seems to be minimal, or just too slow acting. It's not a cakewalk from start to finish, with a few visionary setpieces being specific difficulty choke points, but that's a noteworthy point to the overall package.

A single playthrough of Deathloop I think is the best "first time through" product in Arkane's catalog, and while I can't say how fresh it stays in future plays, I think it's absolutely fantastic and worth a go through