| Deadlock | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Valve’s third-person shooter MOBA hybrid Deadlock is officially revealed! Read on to learn details about its gameplay and story!
Deadlock Gameplay
Deadlock’s gameplay is best described as that of a third-person shooter interlaced with MOBA elements. It’s a 6v6 team-based game with multiple heroes with unique abilities and shooting mechanics. Similar to Valve’s MOBA game Dota 2, Deadlock’s map features multiple different lanes, neutral monsters, and objectives that reward teams that complete them.
While the movement and shooting are those of a third-person shooter, the core gameplay is rooted in the MOBA genre. Players will have to farm and kill creeps to earn currency, and they will eventually grow stronger by buying items and getting levels to defeat the opposing team. The first one to defeat the enemy’s patron wins the game.
Deadlock also introduces some standout gameplay features, including ziplines that help players dive into the action more quickly—a useful addition given the limited mobility of most characters and the map’s large scale.
Each game also provides objective-based progression, with players working to take down enemy shrines to reveal their Patron. For those looking to gain an edge, a powerful neutral boss awaits at the center of the map, offering a significant boon to the team that manages to defeat it.
Recommend the game to:
⚫︎ MOBA and Third-person Shooter players
⚫︎ Players who’ve enjoyed games like SMITE and DOTA 2
⚫︎ Players who enjoy customizable character kits and lane-farming mechanics
⚫︎ People who enjoy early-1900s occult/industrial aesthetics
Dynamic MOBA-style Third-Person Combat
Deadlock brings an exciting twist to the MOBA genre by combining classic lane-based strategy with the immersive action of third-person, over-the-shoulder shooting. This dynamic perspective breathes new life into familiar MOBA mechanics like laning phases, ganks, team fights, and jungle encounters.
Adding to its distinctiveness, Valve has introduced innovative mechanics that set Deadlock apart. Heroes can zip-line directly into lanes, navigate destructible environmental fixtures, and explore vertical landscapes with climbing ropes and jump pads. The game also emphasizes an objective-driven lane progression, with interactive "towers" and defenses that make each match thrilling and strategy-rich.
Customizable Progression Mechanics
No MOBA-style game would be complete without a rich level-up and item system, and Deadlock delivers on both fronts, offering players customizable progression and strategic depth.
The shop, accessible from the base and select points in each lane, offers more than just stat boosts; it grants items that add new passive effects and active abilities, enhancing each character’s unique skill set. Each item is upgradeable through the game’s currency, Souls, allowing players to level up items for even greater effects. With a limited inventory divided into three facets, players must carefully plan their builds to maximize impact.
Character progression is also uniquely flexible. Instead of a linear skill-leveling path, players earn Ability Points by gathering Souls from kills and laning, which can be spent freely to upgrade or unlock multiple abilities at once. This adaptable system keeps opponents guessing, as your chosen Abilities and levels remain unpredictable throughout the match.
Air Dashes, Double Jumps, Soul Gathering, and Falloff Ranges
Deadlock’s unique fusion of third-person shooter mechanics with MOBA gameplay brings a fresh approach to movement, traversal, resource gathering, and aiming, offering surprising yet balanced mechanics you wouldn’t typically see in either genre alone.
For one, traditional MOBA maps feel cramped in a shooter context, so Deadlock’s maps are designed to be massive, incorporating verticality that opens up new ways to engage and strategize. To keep the pace dynamic across such large spaces, every character is equipped with distinct movement abilities—like air dashes, double jumps, and jump dashes—or even flight, making traversal fast and fluid.
Resource collection also has a fresh twist. Players gather Souls, the in-game currency, by defeating lane minions (or “troops”) and enemy heroes. Souls float to the top of the screen on a kill, requiring players to shoot them to collect them. Here’s the kicker: opponents can steal Souls by intercepting them, denying you resources, and adding a tactical layer to kills.
Lastly, to prevent overpowered sniping during the laning phase, each weapon in Deadlock has an effective range. Past this range, damage drops off sharply, and eventually becomes ineffective at long distances, ensuring balanced firefights across the map.
Deadlock Story
Deadlock’s story isn’t just a linear path; it’s a rich, immersive world meant to be explored and re-discovered across multiple playthroughs. Each dive into this MOBA uncovers a layered tapestry of intersecting stories, where character backgrounds, actions, and ambitions weave together into something much bigger.
For now, Deadlock’s main plot remains a mystery, and the connections between many character stories are still taking shape. With the game in active development, much of its storytelling shines through detailed map design and rich character lore. As Deadlock’s overarching narrative unfolds, we’ll update this article to bring you the latest revelations.
Deadlock Setting
Deadlock’s universe pulses with mystical and enigmatic forces, set in an alternate Earth where the supernatural has woven through human history since the dawn of time. Here, the world grapples with the freshly unveiled power of the occult, gradually embedding itself into early 1900s society.
This world experiences powerful phenomena known as Maelstroms—confluences of mystical energy that, over time, have bridged various realms with ours. Through these rifts, otherworldly beings like demons, djinn, and incomprehensible entities have emerged, settling in parts of the world, including unique communities like Ixia, now the 52nd state of the United States.
Adding to the mystery are the Astral Gates, unpredictable portals that can manifest as anything from intense black holes to surges of potent rune energies. These occurrences pepper the world with powerful forces, each gate a mystery unto itself.
Towering above all are the Patrons—immensely powerful entities that connect with certain individuals, offering pacts or extending benevolent guidance. Acting as key nexus points, these Patrons mold Deadlock’s world, where real-world historical events blend seamlessly with surreal, occult wonders.
Deadlock Characters
The Heroes
Deadlock’s roster of 22 heroes is a diverse lineup of characters from every corner of its world, including everyday individuals, enigmatic Maelstrom entities, and those who exist somewhere in between.
Each hero brings unique motivations, intertwined backstories, and complex relationships shaped by their encounters with the Maelstroms and Astral Gates, giving Deadlock’s world a rich tapestry of goals, alliances, and consequences that resonate across the battlefield.
The Patrons
In the world of Deadlock, powerful entities known as Patrons emerge from the Maelstrom, wielding influence over both realms and bestowing powers that can be as treacherous as they are immense. In every match, two Patrons stand as the opposing nexuses—the ultimate objective for each team to defeat.
These Patrons are not only battlefield icons but also weave into the heroes’ backstories, shaping their paths in profound ways. For instance, Lady Geist’s powers stem from a Maelstrom entity known as Oathkeeper, while another Patron might be the mysterious keeper of Abrams’ tome.
Is Deadlock Multiplayer?
Yes, for up to 12 players with 6 players per team
Deadlock offers a robust multiplayer experience, supporting up to 12 players per match, split into two teams of 6. Currently, the game includes one main mode for this player setup, while single-player options are limited to the Hero Sandbox and VS. AI modes.
Deadlock System Requirements
Valce is yet to release the official system requirements for Deadlock. We’ll update this article with that information as soon as it comes out so stay tuned!
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