Deathloop is an entertaining and stylish PS5/PC first-person action game that’s part roguelike and part Dishonored. It’s also pretty challenging as it doesn’t allow you to save during your playthrough; you can only save at the start and at the end of each run, whether you live or die.

Rather than chickening out, we embrace the Loop and its gameplay, and figured out most of its mechanics and trappings. Here are some tips to prolong your roguelike runs while playing action guy Colt.

Understand The Loop Rules

Here goes: one single day is segmented into four sections: Morning, Noon, Afternoon, and Evening. Each of the four main areas – The Complex, Updaam, Karl’s Bay, and Fristad Rock – will have different enemy placements, opened/closed-off sections & rooms, and objectives depending on the time of day it is.

For instance, there will be more enemies guarding Updaam at Night than in the Morning or Noontime. Conversely, the Library will be occupied with baddies in the Morning while it’s empty in the Afternoon. Just keep track of how populated an area on the island is and at which time of day, as well as the events that happen be it Visionary-involved or whatnot.

Each Run Gets Harder For Each Dead Visionary

Killing a Visionary places increased stress on the Loop. In gameplay context, this means you get better equipment in your next run in the Loop, but enemies are harder to kill and are a lot more aggressive. Basically, if you kill half of the Visionaries, you’ll get better loot but a tougher challenge. And headshots don’t instantly kill some Visionaries, even if you have the Frenzy damage buff turned on.

Julianna Only Invades A Game If There’s A Visionary In The Day

The island’s ever-persistent Head of Security will only invade your playthrough if you are hunting a Visionary who is in your vicinity. The times she spawns in is random, so be quick about your business.

She is tricky to kill, but she isn’t invincible. When she is killed, you can grab her Residium remains and also a random slab powerup. You may also score a Purple or Gold weapon too if you’re lucky.

Also, proximity mines and other traps will be laid out on escape routes, even close to your safehouse door at times. So just be wary and look down once in a while if you’re on the run.

The Best Weapon? Your Hands & Machete

Whether you have a machete or not, your melee instant-kills if you’re using it in stealth. It also helps with conserving bullets, which you can use for your various guns (shotguns, snipers, machine gun, etc.) in case your current run goes south.

All Door Lock Combinations, Codes, & Puzzles In Deathloop Are Randomized

The codes and puzzles are randomized for every player and on every playthrough. You’ll need to dig up information and search for clues to get the info you need, rather than rely on an FAQ for the numbers. So take your time and explore the island, its rooms, and its facilities for the solutions you need.

Embrace Death

One of the earlier missions actually requires you to kill yourself with an unproven experiment to make you progress. This is basically Deathloop’s way of telling you that you may need to pull off trial and error moves & escapades to get ahead.

Just remember: thanks to your Reprise powerup you get at the start of the game, you can die twice and you can proceed & faff about in the level. Die a third time, and you start the day over. The top-left icon just below your health and energy indicates how many “lives” you have left in that particular run.

You drop all your Residium at the spot you died, so you should attempt to collect it if you want to save up for future infusions. There will be situations where the spots you die at will be inaccessible; just deal with it and don’t f*** up next time.

You Can Get An Achievement If You Get All The Deaths

Speaking of embracing it, you can get an achievement for experiencing all the types of death the game offers via the Spice of Life trophy. You can:

• Drown.
• Fall.
• Shot to death.
• Stabbed to death.
• Get blown up.
• Choke on Poison Gas in Karl’s Bay at Hangar 2 in the Morning.
• Succumb to fatal fepressurization in Wenjie’s Lab at the Complex.
• Get grounded up in a grinder at the Updaam Dorsey Manor.
• Get fried by a rocket in Condition Detachment/Charlie’s fortress at Updaam.
• Be obliterated by a reactor at Fristad Rock in the bunker.

Pick Off These Visionaries First To Make Your Life Easier

Harriet (Morning, Karl’s Bay) – Her Nexus Slab makes you hurl an energy projectile that links anyone it comes in contact with. If you target one person with an attack, it’ll affect all of those linked, similar to that one Dishonored skill that’s a fan-favourite.

Egor (Evening, Complex) – His Aether Slab turns you invisible. Being invisible in a game where enemies are on high alert when you make a few gunshot sounds is incredibly useful. Also, tripwires and sensors do not detect you while you’re invisible. Just mind the power meter as it drains pretty quick.

Charlie (Noon, Updaam) – His funhouse/fortress in Updaam is well-defended, but he (and his army) is worth killing in the noontime because of his Shift Slab, which is the power to teleport over short distances. It’s basically the Dishonored Blink/Teleport powerup (another fan-favourite). It makes getting around places easier and you can surprise attack enemies.

If All Else Fails, Quit To Main Menu & Restart The Day You’re In

Apparently, quitting the game lets you restart the day you’re in. Though you can’t change your loadout once it’s set, this may be the best way to “reload a save” without going all the way back to the Morning Loop. We suspect Arkane and Bethesda may patch this feature out to preserve the game’s difficulty, so use it while it’s still available.