Xbox - The Official Magazine - UK (2019-08)

ABOVEAs well

as guns,it

lookslike

eachassassin

can wielda

selectionof

powers,too.

exactlyshe’sgettingoutofthefreedomto

beshotinthefaceoverandoveragainis

hardtodecipheratthemoment.

It’sthekindofintriguingworld-building

we’vecometoexpectfromDishonored

developerArkane,andtheactionsounds

firmlyinthestudio’swheelhouse,too.

Thatmeansfirst-personexplorationand

assassination,makingyourwaythrough

huge,openenvironments,andapproaching

eachsituationexactlyasyouwantto.

Butwhichassassindoyouplayas?Isthe

othercontrolledbya humanplayer?These

answersandmorewillcome...intime.Q

n themysteriousislandof

Blackreef,twoassassins

fighttothedeath.And

thentheydoit again.And

again.Andagain.

Yousee,both‘The

Captain’and‘Jules’,asthepairareknown,

arestuckina timeloop.Aftereachoftheir

deadlyduels,whetherkilledornot,both

simplywakeupreadytodoit allagain.

WhiletheCaptainresentshis

predicament,andseekstobreakthecycle,

Julesfightstopreservethe‘freedom’the

loopprovidesonBlackreef– thoughwhat

Thisartfulindie’stimeloopconceitis

focusedmoreontensedramarather

thanall-outgunfightsand,asthetitle

suggests,onlyrunsfor 12 minutes.It’snot

longtosolvethemysteryofyourwife’s

involvementin herfather’sdeath,andwhy

everyrunseesa policedetectivekicking

downthedoortomurderher.Playingfrom

anunusualtop-downperspective– like

lookingdownintoa roomin a dollhouse

• you’llchangeeventseachtimeasyou
  seeka seeminglyimpossiblehappyending.

A videogameadaptationofthebeloved

actionmovieseries– it’dhavetobea

fast-pacedfirst-personshooter,right?

Wrong,saysBithellGames.Instead,

thedeveloperhastranslatedMrWick’s

unstoppableskillsintotheformofa turn-

basedstrategygamewhereyoucontrol

thekiller’severymove.Theresultis almost

likebeingthedirectorofyourownperfect

actionscene,choreographingit second-

by-secondandpickingtherightmoment

foreverypunch,kick,shotandreload.

LonedeveloperAnthonyTanwasjust 16

whenhestartedworkonthisindietitle.

Exploringa post-apocalypticworldbeing

reclaimedbynature,it letsyoustepinto

thehoovesofa magicaldeerleading

theiryoungfawnhome.Theirantlers

canstoreandreleaseglowingenergy,

lightingupdarkplaces,reactivatinglong-

abandonedmachines,and,err,allowing

shoalsoffishtofollowthemaroundon

dryland,somehow.Surreal,intriguingand

hauntinglybeautiful.

IFATFIRSTYOUDON’TSUCCEED...DIE,DIEAGAIN

QPUBLISHERBETHESDASOFTWORKS/DEVELOPERARKANELYON/ETATBC

QPUBLISHERANNAPURNAINTERACTIVE/

DEVELOPERLUISANTONIO/ETA 2020

QPUBLISHERGOODSHEPHERDENTERTAINMENT/

DEVELOPERBITHELLGAMES/ETATBC

QPUBLISHERANTHONYTAN/

DEVELOPERANTHONYTAN/ETA 2020

042 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE

E3 2019

DEATHLOOP

TWELVE MINUTES JOHN WICK HEX WAY TO THE

WOODS