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Welcome to the island of Blackreef, where the fun never stops and every day is a celebration of debauchery and chaos…

Unless you’re Colt, a prisoner in paradise who is being hunted by every person on the island. Trapped in a timeloop, Colt is forced to relive the same deadly day over and over. So in order to break the loop and escape the island, Colt is going to have to do a little hunting of his own. His current target: Aleksis Dorsey, a self-proclaimed “Alpha Wolf” who’s throwing a little soiree at his ostentatious mansion. Normally we’re not party-crashers, but if we ever want to break this timeloop, Aleksis has to die. Party’s over, Aleksis.

DEATHLOOP is a uniquely Arkane take on the first-person shooter genre, and it is being developed for a new generation of hardware. DEATHLOOP will launch on console exclusively for PlayStation 5 this holiday season and will run at 4K/60FPS at launch. DEATHLOOP will also be launching on PC at the same time.

Leveraging the PS5’s cutting-edge graphics and technology like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, DEATHLOOP invites you into a beautiful and immersive world – the truest signature of an Arkane game. With stunning and stylish environments, memorable combat encounters, and the freedom to tackle each mission at your own pace, this is Arkane like you’ve never seen (or felt) it before, taken to the next level thanks to the PlayStation 5.

“After Dishonored 2 and Death of the Outsider, we wanted to experiment with something different,” says Game Director Dinga Bakaba. “A more intimate game centered around one big idea, one place, one challenge, one moment in time, and one relationship.”

DEATHLOOP tells the story of two supernatural assassins locked in an eternal clash. Every day is a battle of wits and weapons on the island of Blackreef, but Colt has found a way to put an end to the timeloop. Unfortunately, his rival Julianna Blake, doesn’t want the timeloop broken, and she will do everything in her power to stop him. There are many people in Colt’s way, but Julianna is by far the biggest threat on the island.

“From the moment Colt wakes up on the black sand beach of Blackreef with a very bad hangover, Julianna is with him every step of the way,” says Bakaba. “In his ear through the radio or lying in ambush in a dark alley, waiting to put a machete through his neck. She revels in both her victories and her defeats, but she is dead set on stopping Colt from breaking the loop. All she wants is to keep playing this deadly game of cat-and-well-armed-mouse, ad infinitum. She is a very flamboyant person, unburdened by the baggage of consequences or conscience.”

So while Colt is determined to put an end to the madness, Julianna never wants the party to end.

Ready for the kicker? Julianna is also a playable character. While you will experience the main campaign as Colt, you also have the option to infiltrate another player’s game as Julianna and do some hunting. But keep in mind, that means someone else could be lurking in your campaign, waiting for the chance to strike. This is Arkane’s approach to an immersive multiplayer experience, where the focus is still on the main story, but there is unpredictability around every corner. “We felt this style of multiplayer, where we give people the option to play as the main antagonist, is a great way to really ramp up the level of trickery, tension, chaos and just plain unpredictability that we love in games like this,” explains Bakaba. “We feel that our game systems uniquely position us to allow for the confrontation between two players to be one not just of skill, but of wits, creativity and an open display of your personality.”

If this PvP element is disabled, Julianna will still appear your game from time to time, hunting you, but she will be AI-controlled. The developers at Arkane Lyon built this system with a hybrid approach in mind. “The focus is on the campaign and the story," Bakaba says. "And that campaign can be played with Julianna controlled only by the AI, or – and this is our recommendation – by a mix of A.I. and random players to experience the range of unpredictability and chaos that Julianna is capable of."

Both Colt and Julianna will have access to a powerful range of customizable weapons and abilities, and you can outfit them to suit your preferred playstyle. According to Bakaba, “While both characters will have access to some of the same main tools, there are also some major differences between their abilities. While Colt can make use of hacking devices and the possibility of returning when he dies, Julianna can take on the appearance of any NPC, and all of the island’s inhabitants are on her side. Colt is trying to accomplish his goals, whatever it takes, and Julianna is there to have fun. She wants Colt to keep playing her game. Julianna is about playing with fire and flair, and cares more about enjoying the ‘game’ than about winning every encounter.”

We’ve mentioned the timeloop a few times, and you probably already have a picture in your head. Groundhog Day, right? Sure.

DEATHLOOP is Groundhog Day if every time February 2 started again, Phil found himself hounded by every maniac in the vicinity. And instead of breaking the loop by getting the girl and learning to live unselfishly, he could only escape by taking out a lot of people. So yeah, just like Groundhog Day.

As Colt, you have one day to eliminate eight targets who are responsible for keeping the loop functioning. If you miss even one, the loop will reset. But they’re scattered all over the island. How are you supposed to track them all down in just one cycle? In order to take out all of them before the day starts over, you’ll need to learn to manipulate the world around you, discovering your targets’ routines and schedules as you fight to solve the puzzle of the island. And the best part: You’re free to determine how to go about this. You can take every mission – main missions and side missions – at your own pace and in any order you choose as you assemble those puzzle pieces. Each day is an opportunity to learn and piece together the mystery. You’ll get stronger, you’ll try new things, you’ll discover new paths, and eventually, you’ll break this f***ing loop.