It’s amazing to see what student projects have become over the years. In college, I worked on the animation aspect of a few student games, but they didn’t come close to the acclaim of Risk of Rain, or any of the other student games I saw at GDC years ago. What’s even cooler is when those teams go on to create full on studios that continue developing games, such as Hopoo Games.

Having taken the world by storm with the GameMaker title Risk of Rain, Hopoo then made Deadbolt, a sidescrolling death simulator that is best described as Ronin meets Hotline Miami. The basic premise is that you’re the reaper and you must take the lives of others, per your boss, which appears to be a flame in a fire place. Between levels you’ll sit in a chair, speak to the fire, and gather your mission and any intel available regarding how to approach the level. There’s a tree of levels you unlock as you play, with zombies, vampires, demons and more unsavory characters plaguing the levels.

When I compare the game to Ronin, I say this because of how the levels are laid out room by room on the x- and y-axis. Death comes swiftly, but doesn’t necessarily require you to be a ninja – you can go in guns blazing, or you can never be seen. The choice is entirely up to you. And when I say it’s like Hotline Miami, it’s very fast paced once the action starts, and the groove you feel with the music is just so satisfying with each kill you rack up. Notably, the kills are all very satisfying, regardless of if you’re using a knife or a grenade launcher. In particular, killing a guy with a knife by stabbing him a few times and then throwing it at the guy across the room before he shoots you and landing a headshot with it couldn’t be more fulfilling.

The developers claim that this is a difficult game, and if you played their last, you should not take that statement lightly. The first levels of the game are nice enough to you, letting you feel good about yourself and building up your knowledge of how to play the game. You’ll find out how to use stealth, learn enemy patterns, and play with the different weapons of death at your disposal. But don’t worry, soon you’ll be weeping at death’s door, and considering you are the grim reaper himself, that’s kind of pathetic. As you should come to expect from games like this, one hit does you in. So if you plan on going melee the whole way through, you better be sure you have the weapons to adequately do so. Otherwise you’ll end up starting the mission over again and again real quick.

It won’t take you long to learn the different types of characters you’ll be facing, and each one has their own quirks and skills. Some are much keener on the sound of their friend getting beat up while others are oblivious. The situations you find the designated enemies in (vampires in that sweet club life, for example) adds abundant amounts of style and character. It’s also nice to note that the game changes up mechanics quite often, especially with boss battles. Having the classic mechanic of killing two enemies within a certain period of is here, but much more difficult than you may find in most games. This is partially because the game demands pinpoint accuracy with weapons, as ammunition is limited and headshots are almost necessary. On that note, aiming can be a bit cumbersome as you’ll automatically lock-on to a character when you pull up your weapon. If you attempt to move it for a head shot, it goes all wonky and by the time you have it sorted, you’re likely not in the place you want to be or you’re flat on the floor. Another awesome mechanic that I love in games is the off-screen sniper, which this implements beautifully.

From the level designs and innate challenges of each level to the additional challenges given from the trophies, you’ll find yourself spending a lot of time with this if you are a completionist. With rankings for each level and the chance to ghost every level manipulating the lights and utilizing the duct system from toilets to air vents, there’s plenty of reason to replay levels you’ve already thought you exhausted. Deadbolt makes difficulty fun for those that may not normally care for it, and oozes style at the same time. The question is: are you able to bring death to the creatures of the night, or will you succumb to their dark embrace?

9 out of 10

Pros

• Soundtrack
• Stealth/Action Works Beautifully
• Challenges
• Visually Appealing

Cons

• Aiming Doesn’t Always Cooperate

Deadbolt was developed and published by Hopoo Games. It was released on PC in March 2016, and on PS4 and Vita February 20th, 2018 for $9.99. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. If you’d like to see more of Deadbolt, check out the official site.

 

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