Deadlink
Straight-up I need to convey 2 things:
1. You need to watch the beginner's guide to this game by the YouTube critic, UnderTheMayo. It has a lot of neat information & a trick that I think the game forgot to mention in its tutorial.
2. I HATE rogue-lites.
Still, many of the similar flaws I have with the rogue-lite formula still continue within this game, I'm not going to ignore that. That is a truth.
However I'm willing to overlook that here, and that's simply due to the state of the game, and how freaking awesome the game-play itself is!
Deadlink has been perfectly constructed by folks whom know exactly what they're trying to achieve, and have an actual vision for a game. That's bold, and that's sad such has be stated; because I feel a lot of games nowadays don't.
Yet the developers at Gruby Entertainment has successfully made a grand entrance to the entire market, and I'm so proud of them. Good freaking job, lads. You made me straight-up love a rogue-lite. That's only the 2nd time that has ever happened.
What a glamorous inaugural, honestly. Bravo!
Game-play
If you love DOOM Eternal, you'll love this game.
If you love rogue-lites, you'll love this game.
If you love both of the aforementioned things, you'll adore this game.
The mere game-play for Deadlink has been so refined & perfected by actual maestros of the industry, and sheer titans already. I have nothing but respect for what they've pulled-off here.
At first, for my ~30-or-so minutes of my playtime I hated the game-play... A little bit of an overstatement, but I found it really weird & uncomfortable; in the negative perspective. I hated how I always ran out of ammo, and how I had to keep reloading my shotgun... But then I finally watched the aforementioned video listed above, and that changed EVERYTHING ! The sheer act of how to get ammo like a pro using 'Marked' enemies was entirely world changing for me in this game -- it twisted my head around, just like my perspective of this game.
So basically 'Marked' enemies are enemies you've triggered the 'Marked' effect on, using either your grapple-hook, your push field, or your grenades; ignore the wrong names, I forgot them, as I am on meth & feda mine right now.
But you activate it like that, and thereafter if you kill them during their short 'Marked' state, they'll replenish your ammo for both your shotgun & rocket launcher by 1 ammo count, respectively. And you don't have to reload them, they're just instantly there. That's INSANE ! I love it, I adore it, I squeal & piss over it. That's downright beautiful -- what a wonderful system.
Such means that if you're playing good; by 'Marking' enemies commonly & weapon-switching, you won't ever even need to reload, nor keep track of your ammo counts. Wow. Shout-out to such unique enforcer, dude.
The maps are really well-made as well. I feel the 1st level's map are maybe a little too flat in retrospective. But The 2nd level's map are straight-up fantastic! I love how many unique ideas there's been thrown in there, with ideologies within the maps which I've never seen replicated truly akin in any other games. I adore how many platforms there typically are, and how many unique layers & heights there are to them. Many parts of the 2nd level's maps are so beautifully constructed as to push truly special game-play scenarios, with its more airborne drone enemies as well. All very cool!
The guns feel great as well, they have a lot of punch & kick in them. I love how devastating the rocket launcher is... for my corpses that is. That's just crazy!... ass... frog...
They all look & feel great in every way.
How the guns represent their unique weapon mods you've chosen to adapt to them are very cool; as that both looks cool & are very useful as a reminder.
Albeit I feel like sometimes my shotgun blasts -- specifically & exclusively -- just goes through enemies sometimes. I'm not sure if it's a glitch or what's up. Maybe I just need to call my dad & admit that I'm a no good gamer? Who knows?
It's just not something I feel I experience in many other games.
But over-all, such a banger.
Rogue-lite
As said previously above, I'm like rogue-lite hater #1. I've never been a fan of the formula, and I feel like like it's a lazy & safe formula typically adapted only to tack as much play-time unto games -- as to raise the play-time; with less work than making an actual 8-10 hour static campaign. You're welcome to argue with me in the comments. Cya!
But here... here I don't mind too much.
Compared to something like Hades; in its current state Deadlink is 1000% more enjoyable for me. That's mostly due to how it's not as grindy; as I've already unlocked most of the upgrades for my character within my first 4 hours, from maybe only ~8 runs. And as of now -- in 'Early Access' -- the campaign is very short, and very straightforward. I can appreciate that. There's only 2 levels to beat, and runs seem much faster & less RNG-focused. Cool!
So once you die (and you WILL die), it really won't be the same amount of hassle, at least not for me. And a majour part of that is also due to how great the combat itself is, it's not just 'good', it's not just 'great. It's 'fantastic'!
It's so darn brilliant, that I feel inclined to mostly overlook it, because what I love about the game heftily overshadows the parts I do not.
Cyberpunk, Cyberfunk
The world of Deadlink is beautiful & immensely gorgeous. There are a ton of scenic vistas, which feel almost like screenshot-bait to focus on in-between fights... and I accept it... because I adapt it. lol
It's so freaking awesome & amazing! Both of the levels so far are wonderfully constructed visually, and are very instantaneously distinctive. I was really thrown a curve-ball, cause I did not expect the 2nd level to be in a science lab of some sorts, not whatsoever. It's a really crazy twist -- yet it just works so well. It's a huge contrast to the former level, but it still works alongside it.
Deadlink's soundtrack is just straight-up... "wow." I'm shocked, I'm surprised.
The soundtrack for Deadlink truly blew me away with its score, and I'm simply amazed.
Ivory Tower Soundworks did such brilliant works on it all, and there's not a single bad song. All of them are true bonerjams & extraordinary headbangers! They're on-par with something like Cyberpunk 2077's in-game combat music as well -- which is insane!
My favourite one so far is definitely 'Hòmo Patent'<3
Great stuff, man. I'd utmost recommend everyone to check the soundtrack out!
I'm so glad Gruby Entertainment themselves upload their own tracks, instead of us having to rely on compressed sound-files extracted from the game files, lol. Yeah, b!tch.
Conclusion
Deadlink blew me away. I played the short-time demo & thought it was 'alright'. Then I bought it upon release... didn't really care... meh. 30 minutes later & I'm standing up, sweating, headbanging, and grinning from the sheer amount of pure joy I'm experiencing!
HUGE recommendations for all those interested! Even as a rogue-lite hater, this stands as a likely GOTY candidate for me.
I can't wait to see what's next for this game!
Straight-up I need to convey 2 things:
1. You need to watch the beginner's guide to this game by the YouTube critic, UnderTheMayo. It has a lot of neat information & a trick that I think the game forgot to mention in its tutorial.
2. I HATE rogue-lites.
Still, many of the similar flaws I have with the rogue-lite formula still continue within this game, I'm not going to ignore that. That is a truth.
However I'm willing to overlook that here, and that's simply due to the state of the game, and how freaking awesome the game-play itself is!
Deadlink has been perfectly constructed by folks whom know exactly what they're trying to achieve, and have an actual vision for a game. That's bold, and that's sad such has be stated; because I feel a lot of games nowadays don't.
Yet the developers at Gruby Entertainment has successfully made a grand entrance to the entire market, and I'm so proud of them. Good freaking job, lads. You made me straight-up love a rogue-lite. That's only the 2nd time that has ever happened.
What a glamorous inaugural, honestly. Bravo!
Game-play
If you love DOOM Eternal, you'll love this game.
If you love rogue-lites, you'll love this game.
If you love both of the aforementioned things, you'll adore this game.
The mere game-play for Deadlink has been so refined & perfected by actual maestros of the industry, and sheer titans already. I have nothing but respect for what they've pulled-off here.
At first, for my ~30-or-so minutes of my playtime I hated the game-play... A little bit of an overstatement, but I found it really weird & uncomfortable; in the negative perspective. I hated how I always ran out of ammo, and how I had to keep reloading my shotgun... But then I finally watched the aforementioned video listed above, and that changed EVERYTHING ! The sheer act of how to get ammo like a pro using 'Marked' enemies was entirely world changing for me in this game -- it twisted my head around, just like my perspective of this game.
So basically 'Marked' enemies are enemies you've triggered the 'Marked' effect on, using either your grapple-hook, your push field, or your grenades; ignore the wrong names, I forgot them, as I am on meth & feda mine right now.
But you activate it like that, and thereafter if you kill them during their short 'Marked' state, they'll replenish your ammo for both your shotgun & rocket launcher by 1 ammo count, respectively. And you don't have to reload them, they're just instantly there. That's INSANE ! I love it, I adore it, I squeal & piss over it. That's downright beautiful -- what a wonderful system.
Such means that if you're playing good; by 'Marking' enemies commonly & weapon-switching, you won't ever even need to reload, nor keep track of your ammo counts. Wow. Shout-out to such unique enforcer, dude.
The maps are really well-made as well. I feel the 1st level's map are maybe a little too flat in retrospective. But The 2nd level's map are straight-up fantastic! I love how many unique ideas there's been thrown in there, with ideologies within the maps which I've never seen replicated truly akin in any other games. I adore how many platforms there typically are, and how many unique layers & heights there are to them. Many parts of the 2nd level's maps are so beautifully constructed as to push truly special game-play scenarios, with its more airborne drone enemies as well. All very cool!
The guns feel great as well, they have a lot of punch & kick in them. I love how devastating the rocket launcher is... for my corpses that is. That's just crazy!... ass... frog...
They all look & feel great in every way.
How the guns represent their unique weapon mods you've chosen to adapt to them are very cool; as that both looks cool & are very useful as a reminder.
Albeit I feel like sometimes my shotgun blasts -- specifically & exclusively -- just goes through enemies sometimes. I'm not sure if it's a glitch or what's up. Maybe I just need to call my dad & admit that I'm a no good gamer? Who knows?
It's just not something I feel I experience in many other games.
But over-all, such a banger.
Rogue-lite
As said previously above, I'm like rogue-lite hater #1. I've never been a fan of the formula, and I feel like like it's a lazy & safe formula typically adapted only to tack as much play-time unto games -- as to raise the play-time; with less work than making an actual 8-10 hour static campaign. You're welcome to argue with me in the comments. Cya!
But here... here I don't mind too much.
Compared to something like Hades; in its current state Deadlink is 1000% more enjoyable for me. That's mostly due to how it's not as grindy; as I've already unlocked most of the upgrades for my character within my first 4 hours, from maybe only ~8 runs. And as of now -- in 'Early Access' -- the campaign is very short, and very straightforward. I can appreciate that. There's only 2 levels to beat, and runs seem much faster & less RNG-focused. Cool!
So once you die (and you WILL die), it really won't be the same amount of hassle, at least not for me. And a majour part of that is also due to how great the combat itself is, it's not just 'good', it's not just 'great. It's 'fantastic'!
It's so darn brilliant, that I feel inclined to mostly overlook it, because what I love about the game heftily overshadows the parts I do not.
Cyberpunk, Cyberfunk
The world of Deadlink is beautiful & immensely gorgeous. There are a ton of scenic vistas, which feel almost like screenshot-bait to focus on in-between fights... and I accept it... because I adapt it. lol
It's so freaking awesome & amazing! Both of the levels so far are wonderfully constructed visually, and are very instantaneously distinctive. I was really thrown a curve-ball, cause I did not expect the 2nd level to be in a science lab of some sorts, not whatsoever. It's a really crazy twist -- yet it just works so well. It's a huge contrast to the former level, but it still works alongside it.
Deadlink's soundtrack is just straight-up... "wow." I'm shocked, I'm surprised.
The soundtrack for Deadlink truly blew me away with its score, and I'm simply amazed.
Ivory Tower Soundworks did such brilliant works on it all, and there's not a single bad song. All of them are true bonerjams & extraordinary headbangers! They're on-par with something like Cyberpunk 2077's in-game combat music as well -- which is insane!
My favourite one so far is definitely 'Hòmo Patent'<3
Great stuff, man. I'd utmost recommend everyone to check the soundtrack out!
I'm so glad Gruby Entertainment themselves upload their own tracks, instead of us having to rely on compressed sound-files extracted from the game files, lol. Yeah, b!tch.
Conclusion
Deadlink blew me away. I played the short-time demo & thought it was 'alright'. Then I bought it upon release... didn't really care... meh. 30 minutes later & I'm standing up, sweating, headbanging, and grinning from the sheer amount of pure joy I'm experiencing!
HUGE recommendations for all those interested! Even as a rogue-lite hater, this stands as a likely GOTY candidate for me.
I can't wait to see what's next for this game!