Since launching on PC and PS5 earlier this year, Arkane Studios' Deathloop has captivated players with a number of important stylistic, narrative, and mechanical reasons. The fact that it's a nomination for the Game of the Year at this year's upcoming Game Awards isn't especially surprising. Aside from factors like a unique 60s era aesthetic and tight gunplay, the first-person Groundhog Day-inspired shooter is also notable for featuring a cast of delightful characters.
Brought to life by Jason Kelley, an actor who's also nominated at the aforementioned end of year gaming celebration for his performance, Colt Vahn's characterization sits at the very heart of Deathloop and its success. Throughout the Bethesda-published adventure, each death peels back a little bit of the protagonist's history and his subsequent relationship with the mysterious Blackreef Island. Designed in part to almost be a character within its own right, player's are left at the end of the engrossing narrative journey on the island with a set of complicated disjointed memories that connect the two stars.
Deathloop: Colt's Origins
Over the course of Deathloop, players uncover snippets of information that relate back to Colt's origins, and the events that led to him becoming trapped within the orbit of the time-looping anomaly at the center of Blackreef Island. One of the effective storytelling tactics that Arkane Studios employs to convey details of the protagonist's past is through the strategic placement of bonus documents and audio files. While it's easy to get through the game with a solid understanding of Colt's timeline, these hidden collectibles are the place where some of the most important context for each character's motivations are provided, as a reward to exploration-minded players.
Born in 1911 within a nation known as "The Motherland," it's revealed in one note that Colt joined the military at an early age as a pilot, before gradually ascending to the rank of Captain. During the Deathloop universe's alternate reality version of the 1930s, Colt was eventually dispatched to Blackreef as a member of a scientific expedition. While the game initially sets up the idea that the game's protagonist has become trapped within the island's time loop unwittingly, the fact that he'd initially arrived of his own volition is presented to the player later on in the adventure. What's more, in a lot of ways it actually turns out that the veteran is partly responsible for the time-resetting chaos that occurs during the "present-day" events of the game as well.
Colt's First Stint in the Loop
After falling in love and inadvertently conceiving a child with another member of the expedition team named Lila, Colt was stripped of his military rank. Fueled by a desire to restore his status and pride, the former Captain subsequently volunteered for the Operation's most deadly mission. Piloting the rakyetoplan, Colt and the art deco rocket ship were launched directly into the Blackreef anomaly in a desperate attempt to understand the source of its power. Instead of finding answers to that question though, the soon-to-be father was unfortunately stuck within the time loop for a staggering 17 years.
Eventually, after being driven to the brink of insanity by the Loop, Colt was able to free himself through the tragic act of taking his own life. This established relationship with Blackreef would eventually turn out to be an important part of the veteran's second escape from the anomaly, during the actual events of Deathloop, as it initially enables Colt to retain his memories of each day. Upon his first exit from the island though, Colt discovers that the world has progressed in the time that he's been away. Lila has given birth and raised their daughter alone, and The Motherland has abandoned all plans to harness the power hidden away on Blackreef.
Colt's Return to Blackreef
Following his first escape from Blackreef, Colt eventually finds himself with a return ticket to the island thanks to Egor Serling. Having been institutionalized for five years, the rich pseudoscientist and founder of the AEON program frees the Captain under the proviso that he lends his experience with the Loop to the organization. While AEON intends to utilize the power of the anomaly to set up an almost hedonistic community, where death and consequences are washed away at the end of each day, Colt instead secretly plans to find a way to turn back the clock and return to Lila.
What complicates Colt's mission though is the discovery that his long lost daughter Julianna, has also been recruited into the AEON's Blackreef-based schemes. Amending his plans to also incorporate her rescue as well ultimately sets up the events of Deathloop itself, as Colt's attempts to allow Julianna to retain her memories leaves her with an addiction to the cycle of death, that forms the backbone of the game. Colt's long history with Blackreef's time-resetting characteristics can also be viewed in the game's 'bad' ending, as the acceptance that he's also addicted to its charms ensures that the pair are seemingly trapped there indefinitely.
Deathloop is available now for PS5 and PC.
