Deadlink Hands-on Impressions
12
Dec 23
What better way to destroy rogue megacorps but with lots of bullets!
Deadlink
got the opportunity to check out Deadlink, a cyberpunk roguelite FPS developed by Gruby Entertainment and published by SuperGG.com. I dived into this game pretty much blind, but coming after my first successful run (which took 15.2 hours according to Steam) I can safely say it was an absolute blast! By why? Well, let me tell you.
Deadlink is essentially a roguelike version of DOOM (2016) where standing still is a death sentence, and you must manage your health, armour, and ammo to make it through each and every encounter. Although there is slightly less blood and gore, it still feels good to run around shooting people while managing your resources on the fly, which is very apparent at the game's most important mechanic: Marking. Marking enemies is fairly easy, either done by using an ability or throwing a grenade, but once you kill a marked enemy, they drop armour and ammo which is extremely important if you want to survive. And let me tell you, even in the early stages it is very easy for you to get yourself killed if you aren't focused.
Augment Yourself
Still, it isn’t cyberpunk if you can’t plug in new augmentations to improve your abilities. Throughout your run, you’ll be obtaining implants that can boost your combat effectiveness or provide some utility upgrades, but they are limited by only activating based on certain actions, like swapping weapons or destroying ammo-refilling C-Balls (Construction Balls). With only so many slots, you’ll be thinking hard which implants to equip and how they’ll be activated. And your build will be put to the test at the end of every area, as you will need to fight a boss that you will either melt or die to depending on your choices.
Plenty of Choices to Make
And this is only the basic gameplay loop as your playstyle will change drastically depending on what Combat Shell you choose: From the reliable Soldier and the stealthy Hunter, to the technical Engineer and the powerful Juggernaut. All four available shells have their own abilities, strengths and weaknesses, but each are fun to play in their own right. You can also further upgrade these shells by buying meta upgrades after a run using XP (Expedited Provisions) and Turing Tokens collected all throughout. I do recommend grinding a little at first as a lot of the more interesting upgrades are unlocked in the later tiers.
Deadlink
Look, I have to admit, words simply aren’t enough to really convey what my time with Deadlink felt. After countless deaths, hundreds of enemies slaughtered, tons of implants installed, I still haven't experienced everything the game has to offer. There’s tons of replayability in the harder difficulties and an endless mode. Deadlink is definitely a fun time worth picking up.
