Fast, FPS, Roguelite; just another game in 2024
Well, here we are again, another fast paced, FPS that is also a roguelite. Honestly, I am tired of this trend with all these types of games, but that doesn’t mean that Deadlink; the latest fast paced, FPS roguelite is a bad game. The fact that Deadlink on the visual side continues the trend of games invoking the style from Cyberpunk 2077, I am surprised that this game hasn’t received more press than it has been.
Deadlink is an extremely arcade-y shooter but it tries to have a coherent narrative as well. The story being told here isn’t bad, its just the type of the game this is only allows for narrative points to be drip fed to the players, and while the voice acting was excellent in quality the story being told is just kind of there. Players will take control of an operative who works for Corporate Security in a world where megacorporation rule the world. It’s funny because the game talks about covertly infiltrating places yet this game is all about shooting fast and moving faster.
MSRP: $24.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99
At the beginning of each run, players pick a class of combat shell which are basically classes, they each offer various weapons and gameplay styles. The objective is pretty simple: reach the end of waves upon waves of goons, defeat the boss, and reap the rewards. Shoot every bad guy in sight with the help of your weapons, as well as some additional accessories such as a dash mechanic and a grappling hook. At the end of each small section of the map, you have the chance to acquire a power-up or a small health boost. Keep doing so until you eventually die. Of course, like all the roguelites players will use the resources acquired during each run to upgrade their shells. You know, the typical videogame experience in the year of our Lord 2024.
That might sound harsh because honestly Deadlink doesn’t do anything inherently wrong. The game is clearly inspired from Doom Eternal as far as gameplay systems and movement but its just another roguelike and we get at least seven each week at this point. And it doesn’t help things that the controls in Deadlink are different just for different sake, and I really hate when developers do that.
I will say that the presentation in Deadlink is really fantastic, boosting some really impressive graphics, of course the cyberpunk aesthetic with just a touch of cel-shading; it really makes Deadlink standout from the sea of cyberpunk games we have gotten in the wake of 2077. The world is filled with destructible items which add some nice effects as bullets fill the environments. I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the soundtrack, sure all these games have some high-octane metal music to help spurn players on their killing spree; the music here is electronic music and fits the vibe extraordinarily well.
It took me a while to really get the gameplay loop for Deadlink, I have played so many of these types of games and this one didn’t help things by having some confusing controls. But once I was able to wrap my head around everything, Deadlink is a pretty fun experience in small spurts. With a narrative that isn’t presented well in my opinion and a high difficulty level there really is no draw to spend hours in this world in one sitting; but in small spurts, I think fun can be found in Deadlink for some.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
