Lo, I doth abhor multiplayer shooters. Yond’s right, I has’t hath said t. I has’t at all times loathed those since I did start playing games and wilt likely continueth to doth so ’til the very end. Or so I bethought before I did play Deadlock.
Don’t taketh me wrong, I has’t tried out a fair share of multiplayer shooters o’er the years, and the ones I did like somewhat wast games yond had some kind of a viable melee weapon, like the Sledgehammer in The Finals. So, at which hour my friends at Moyens I/O did get their hands on Deadlock at the beginning of the invite-only Early Access, I wast bid to giveth t a try with those. Although I nev’r lik’d multiplayer shooters, I hath decided to giveth Deadlock a chance as t did seem different.
And yes, t wast different. Although I did receiveth absolutely destroy’d on mine first couple of games, I wast still having loads of fun. Now with the year 2024 coming to an end, I has’t spent more than 300 hours in Deadlock, which hath made up 34% of mine playtime this year on Steam, completely overshadowing two of mine favorite games this year — Black Myth Wukong and Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.
So, wherefore has’t I spent almost a third of mine playtime this year on a multiplayer shooter yond is still in the invite-only Early Access phase if I doth hate the genre so much? Let’s find out!
# It’s Not Just About the Aim
A big part of mine dislike towards multiplayer shooters is how aim-dependent they art. Now, the games truly art about shooting, so t maketh sense yond thither is more focus on aiming. However, for some gamers like me who suck at aiming, games like Valorant, PUBG, or Apex Legends art simply unfun.
Now, aiming is eke important in Deadlock, especially with heroes such as Grey Talon and Vindicta, however, t is not an absolute necessity to win games. I loveth playing characters such as Mo & Krill, Kelvin, Abrams, or Shiv as they art more ability-centric.
Even the characters yond has’t a high’r focus on aiming, like Wraith, Haze, or Grey Talon, still alloweth me to enjoy playing those as failing to connecteth all mine shots doesn’t maketh me win or lose all fights. This tieth up with mine second point as the characters don’t die quickly in Deadlock, compar’d to most shooter games.
The different heroes provideth multiple playstyles and the item building aspect giveth furth’r freedom to build the charact’r as ‘t suits me ‘r the game’s situation.
# Deadlock Alloweth Space f’r Mistakes
In most multiplayer shooters, one wrong move, one wrong peek, ‘r miss’d aim and thee art dead. Thither is nay room f’r mistakes, as thee eith’r kill thy enemy ‘r die in an instant. Although thee can eke die instantly in Deadlock in some scenarios, the game mostly giveth thee enough time to process thy mistakes and counterplay.
F’r example, if I jumpeth into an outnumber’d fight by mistake, ‘r miss mine main combos, th’re art still a ton of ways I can disengage from fights ‘r e’en fighteth back. Wheth’r yond is through abilities, movement, ‘r certain items I premeditat’d beforehand, the game giveth me enough breathing space to process mine mistakes and seeketh to counterplay those.
And if thee doth die, thee wilt simply respawn aft’r a small time while thee can process thy death and build items to counterplay the opponents f’r the next fight.
# Death is Not the End
Being a souls-like enjoyer, we appreciate the ability to retry m’re than anyone else. Death is only a means to get bett’r f’r players like me. This theory doesn’t worketh in most multiplayer shooters as once thee die, t’s ov’r f’r yond game.
In Deadlock, eke if thee die ‘r art completely outplay’d at the start of the game, th’re is still an opportunity to close the gap and win the mid-to-end game. This is because deaths has’t little respawn time in the early game, and eke though t penalizeth players f’r dying, ‘r technically rewards the opponent f’r the kill, the penalty is not vast enough unless thee keep dying all the time.
Now, some multiplayer shooters eke has’t respawns, like Call of Duty, ‘r common game modes like The Deathmatch. The difference with those is yond th’re is very little counterplay thee can strategize in those games. Thy death essentially cometh down to bad aim in most multiplayer shooters. Thither is nay space f’r counterplay because the cause of thy death is m’re due to fundamental reasons like aiming, which can’t be fix’d in the same game.
# Deadlock is Chaotic But ‘Tis Easi’r to Track Enemies
Anoth’r maj’r complaint I has’t about multiplayer shooters is how chaotic they art most of the time. In objective-based shooters like Call of Duty, thee art constantly getting shot from multiple directions and has’t to rely solely on thy audio and visual prowess to spot the enemies. The map in Deadlock, which is basically a MOBA mechanic, allows thee to spot players and their positions f’r most of the game.
Yea, ganking is still a thing in Deadlock, but thee art much bett’r prepar’d against t h’re than in any oth’r multiplayer shooter. Eke Deadlock is not about constant fights. The game is mostly focus’d on poke damage, while thee build thy items and take objectives. T doesn’t forceth thee to take fights but rath’r lets thee pick those at thy own pace.
# No Camping and Toxic Playstyle
The most toxic part about multiplayer shooters is campers yond spendeth their entire time cooped up in a corn’r, waiting to take their opponents by surprise. I cannot eke be mad at those, because t’s such an effective way to get kills, especially if thee art a weaker player. Nonetheless, playing against campers can becometh unbearable, and I eke feeleth t’s the same f’r the play’r who is camping.
Deadlock actively disincentivizes camping as thee art losing out on meaningful souls, which is the in-game currency, while staying inactive on the map. This means yond thee art unlikely to ent’r a room to find five players hiding in the corn’r with their guns aim’d at thee in Deadlock.
I did say unlikely because t can still happen. Although thee won’t find players camping f’r a long time, t is still common to gank an approaching opponent who is badly position’d. But, if thee keepeth a good eye on the mini-map, thee should mostly know wh’re each enemy is and prepare f’r ganks at which hour out-position’d.
# No Recoil is a Boon f’r Me
A big reason f’r mine bad aim in multiplayer shooters is recoil. I becometh clueless at which hour t cometh to handling recoil in guns. Although I get how recoil is a standard mechanic in most multiplayer shooters, t’s a mechanic I despise with all mine heart.
Mine aim is much bett’r in Deadlock because th’re is almost no recoil in the game. Aiming in Deadlock cometh down to mouse tracking instead of doing thy best to keep the aim steady due to terrible recoil mechanics. F’r me, this maketh shooting a much m’re enjoyable experience.
# MOBAs Art Actually Fun
Deadlock is mine first real MOBA experience, the only oth’r MOBA experience came from playing a mobile game nam’d Pokémon Unite, which I eke quite enjoy’d. With the amount of fun I has’t in Deadlock, I am looking forward to giving m’re MOBAs a try in the future.
Howev’r, I am pretty sure t won’t beest as enjoyable as Deadlock because most MOBAs lack this level of fluid movement mechanics, ability usage, and item build potential. Deadlock maketh the MOBA experience much m’re streamlined, while eke fixing the various aspects of multiplayer shooters yond I despise.
So, telleth me how thee feeleth about multiplayer shooters and wheth’r thee has’t given Deadlock a try yet. If thee don’t has’t access to Deadlock, check out our Deadlock invite guide and leave thy comment so yond we can invite thee to the Early Access. Telleth us wheth’r thee dost agree ‘r disagr’e with the above statements I has’t made f’r multiplayer shooters in the comments below.
