Deathloop: The first details on Arkane's time loop assassin sandbox

The next game from Arkane, the studio behind Dishonored, is an action-FPS set in the 1960s. It's a mid-century playground where your soldier-turned-assassin protagonist will run, shoot, and stab his way to freedom from a never-ending day on an island stuck outside time.

Protagonist Colt needs to track down eight different targets to kill all over the city. The whole place is stuck in a time loop, so if Colt dies or hits midnight without accomplishing his goal you'll be back on the street trying to take them down again. As you get to know Blackreef and its eight elusive visionaries you'll discover new places and relationships between events around the city to help you finally break the loop. Everything we've heard about Deathloop so far makes it sound like Hitman-style sandbox puzzle with Dishonored's combat, which seems plenty rad.

Here's everything we know so far about Deathloop's story, characters, and trailers.

So it's about a time loop?

Name clued you in, did it? Yup, Deathloop is about an assassin named Colt stuck in a loop of one single day on an island called Blackreef. Apparently the only way to break out of the loop is to kill eight Visionaries, the folks who are keepers of the loop. The trick is, Colt has to kill them all in 24 hours or the loop resets. Oh, and dying resets it as well.

What is Deathloop's gameplay like?

The first gameplay reveal for Deathloop showed off a lot of the slightly supernatural FPS running and gunning you know Arkane for in the Dishonored games. Colt seems to have all sorts of guns at his disposal along with the ability to teleport short distances and lift enemies into the air telekinetic-style. He's likely got other abilities we haven't seen just yet. 

He'll need to use everything in his arsenal to hunt down his eight targets across the four districts of Blackreef. 

The second gameplay trailer explains a bit more about how Colt will need to solve the time loop problem. Each of your targets have their own schedules and personalities, meaning you'll need to work out how to bend them to your will so you can kill them all within the time limit. Some of them can only be tracked down in certain times or places. Part of the puzzle comes down to learning the city itself.

"You can tackle any area of Blackreef at any time as you pick up clues and learn more about your targets," Bethesda says. "The districts are open, like what you might remember from Dishonored, but unlike Dishonored they aren’t tied to levels and can be openly explored whenever you want."

Bethesda says that each district has its own story that plays out during the day, whether you're there watching it or off in another part of the city.  You'll need to learn what parts of the story you can influence in order to draw out your targets where you can deal with them. 

Basically, it sounds like Arkane's previous Dishonored games mixed with the sandbox puzzles of the Hitman series. 

Who are the Visionaries? 

Bethesda introduced two of Colt's eight targets during the second gameplay trailer for Deathloop. The Visionaries are the ambitious twentysomethings who run what's called the AEON Program—a project to chase eternal life. They've used themselves as the eight anchors for a time loop to live forever, though it sounds like they all have their own motivations for Colt to exploit. They also each have superpowers granted by trinkets developed by AEON scientists.

Egor Serling
"Egor is a self-proclaimed pseudoscientist, and someone who just can’t get no respect," Bethesda says. "Egor craves a contradictory kind of legitimacy: he wants to be left alone and viewed as a preeminent genius, but he also wants to be adored and invited to parties. And when neither of those things happen… Egor turns violent.”

Aleksis "The Wolf" Dorsey
Aleksis is an odd dog, obsessed with wolves. He thinks he's earned the title "Alpha" with his social and business prowess. He wants to be everyone's favorite friend, partner, and partier. According to Deathloop's second gameplay trailer, you can find Aleksis throwing a big wolf masquerade party every night.

Julianna Blake
Julianna is a special case among the Visionaries. Unlike the others who have stories and schedules that play out with or without Colt's interference, Jules' sole goal is killing you. She'll chase Colt all over the island, looking for a chance to take him out. Bethesda has also said that Juliana can take on the appearance of any NPC, further complicating your attempts to avoid her.

We've also seen the names Ramblin' Frank Spicer, Harriet Morse, Dr. Wenjie Evans, Charlie Montague, and Fia Zborowska, though Bethesda hasn't shared more about them yet.

How does the multiplayer work?

Think Dark Souls. Other players can drop into your game, taking on the role of rival assassin Julianna Blake. That's definitely sure to throw a wrench in your plans for the current loop.

You can keep online play turned off, Bethesda says, in which case Julianna is controlled by AI. Her goal is to hunt Colt down to keep him from breaking the loop, so you'll want to keep an eye out for her even if you're playing offline.