Deathloop promises to combine the action-stealth gameplay of Arkane's Dishonored with a central time loop mechanic as the player races against the clock to take down their eight targets before their time runs out. The game will require players to use their knowledge of previous loops to manipulate events, making more progress with each loop than the last.
Deathloop is far from the first game to use time loop mechanics, however, and there's plenty for fans to check out in the meantime.
Returnal
Returnal is a time loop horror roguelike released by developer Housemarque this April to critical acclaim. The game follows astronaut Selene after she crash-lands on a mysterious planet filled with terrifying creatures. Every time she's killed, she finds herself back at the crash site. With a dark aesthetic resembling the Alien movies this fast-paced cerebral shooter has Selene slowly uncovering the secrets of a mysterious world, with the environment carrying a lot of the storytelling. The game can be extremely difficult at times, but as players try out more tactics and technology they will find that Returnal can be one of the most satisfying roguelikes on the market.
Majora's Mask
Majora's Mask is a classic of the time loop genre. After the events of Ocarina of Time Link finds himself unexpectedly teleported to an alternate version of Hyrule named Termina. The moon is set to crash into Termina in just three days, giving the player just under an hour of real-game time to try and make progress before using the Ocarina to reset the loop and save the town. One of the most strangely dark entries in The Legend of Zelda, Majora's Mask helped established time loops as a video game trope for years to come.
Outer Wilds
Outer Wilds is an award winning action-adventure game set in a solar system just 22 minutes before its star goes supernova. With under a half hour before the loop resets, players uncover the galaxy's secrets from missile launch codes to the workings of a mysterious extinct alien race. With a heart-wrenching soundtrack and a bitter-sweet ending, Outer Wilds is a giant of the genre that doesn't outstay its welcome.
Elsinore
Elsinore is a point-and-click adventure that puts players in the role of Ophelia from Hamlet. With the play's tragic end on the horizon, Ophelia has to manipulate events in Elsinore castle in an attempt to prevent one of Shakespeare's bloodiest finales. While Deathloop is action-oriented, Elsinore often requires the player to manipulate the play's characters using dialogue. Often, they will find that their attempts to avert tragedy lead to unexpected outcomes, sometimes fulfilling the very fates they were trying to subvert.
Skyrim: The Forgotten City
The Forgotten City is a Skyrim mod that gained so much acclaim that it's being turned into a standalone game set for release later this year. The original mod sees the Dragonborn discover a lost Dwemer city under a terrible curse - if one of the city's inhabitants commits a crime of any kind, every single person in the city dies. The mod's writing won creator Nick Pearce an Australian Writers Guild Award, making him the first person to win a national Writers Guild Award for a mod. The Forgotten City lets players engage with some extremely memorable characters using their knowledge from past loops and access multiple endings which will have fans excited for the standalone release and the chance to play more time loop games when Deathloop comes out later this year.
Deathloop launches September 14 for PC and PlayStation 5.
