So, Valve has recently opened the floodgates and let everybody in on the very open secret that Deadlock is now playable. It’s rolling out in a very similar manner as Dota 2 did back in the day, and it’s already got a hilariously huge playerbase consisting of both veteran and newbie MOBA players.
As somebody who has played a ton of MOBAs on and off ever since the very first DotA (yes, the custom Warcraft 3 map), it piqued my interest and had me scrambling to find an invite ASAP. Now, I’ve had around 30 hours worth of matches invested into Deadlock, so let’s talk about it!
MOBA FIRST, SHOOTER SECOND
A lot of people are coming in thinking this is mainly a shooter game, but they couldn’t be more wrong. It just happens to have third person shooting mechanics. The best comparison I can make is that it’s almost like Smite, though I admittedly have very limited experience in that game so I don’t know how similar they actually are.
It’s definitely nothing like Overwatch, despite some people claiming that they’re similar. The only thing it really shares with Deadlock is the fact that there are both abilities and guns. That’s all.
LANING PHASE
Even in its really early alpha state, the core gameplay is already pretty solid. For the first ten minutes or so, it’ll feel like your typical MOBA laning phase. With no mana costs for abilities and having a creep denial mechanic in place, the initial phase of a match is already incredibly engaging.
Getting bullied out of your lane early by poke-heavy characters? Staying behind cover 24/7 and popping out only to last hit creeps from afar or with a melee attack is still completely viable. With shops being placed right beside each first tower, you can even itemize against said bullies and turn the tides in your favor without ever backing all the way to your base.
The wild thing is that there aren’t really any “carry” heroes since pretty much the entire roster can be one, at least right now. Because of this, all of the outplaying, especially during the early game, is purely reliant on a player’s skill and decision-making.
My own matches throughout the last few days have been a perfect example of this. Sometimes I’d leave my lane counterpart in the dust, while in other matches I would get beat down so hard that I’ll be behind for the first half of the game despite having the exact same matchup.
At least it keeps things fresh unless it’s an absolute stomp, which does happen occasionally due to the lack of a proper MMR system at the moment. There are rare occasions where my teammates would go 0-3 in the first few minutes while we’re just chilling over at my lane. Luckily, that isn’t always a death sentence in Deadlock.
MID TO LATE GAME CHAOS
By around the mid-game phase, if your team can buy the right items and avoid starting unnecessary fights all over the map, you can easily mount a comeback. Unless the other team is making literally zero mistakes, there is always going to be an opening for a pick or two with your entire group piling on them.
Even just split pushing is viable because of how flimsy defenses are in the game, which I believe is an intentional design choice to keep matches from dragging on for too long. Seriously, a lone player can potentially melt an entire lane’s worth of defenses if left unchecked halfway through a game. McGinnis sends her regards.
By the late game stages, everything just feels so chaotic in a fun way. Wombo combos can happen anywhere in the map, and it only takes one good fight for a team to potentially end the entire match.
With how the varying active items work in Deadlock, there is a ton of outplay potential towards the tail end of a match. Got a Haze that you need to shutdown? Hit them with a Curse when they’re vulnerable, or pop a Metal Skin first if they have Unstoppable. You’re the hero they want to shutdown? Get your own Unstoppable and pop it before going in.
Even before you get to endgame items, there are a lot of cheaper alternatives that work wonders throughout the earlier stages of a match. Knocking down or blinking beside a flying Vindicta to take her out is never going to get old. Heck, even just plain parrying can ruin any melee spammer’s day.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
While I do like the gameplay loop and the whole occult sci-fi vibe that Deadlock has, it’s kinda hard to get too attached to it at the moment because literally anything can change over time. Just a while ago, they added climbable ropes all around the map, which are barely useful.
Even beyond the actual gameplay, a lot of the aesthetic choices in the game are subject to change. Yamato, for example, sticks out a lot from the rest of the roster. She’s a cyberpunk ninja whose design was just carried over from an older version of the game that had a completely different theme.
So yeah, while I am enjoying Deadlock, we’ll just have to wait and see how it’ll all play out in the full release, whenever that might be. In the meantime, anyone who’s in it should pitch their suggestions or share feedback in the official forums!
