Deadlock gives me the same feeling Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2 did before they consumed my life

GamesMOBADeadlockDeadlock gives me the same feeling Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2 did before they consumed my lifeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Valve)

deadlock

Last-hitting is so mind-numbingly boring in most MOBAs. The first fifteen minutes of the match are wasted on this little dance picking off lane creeps right before they die to ensure you get the gold from their death. Games like Heroes of the Storm or Gigantic have done away with last-hitting, or even creeps entirely, but they lose that satisfying sense of progression you get from slowly racking up cash to spend on powerful items. I admit it’s part of why these games work, but frankly, I’ve been sick of it for a long time.

(Image credit: Valve)

deadlock

Have ult, will travel

Immediately, laning is a part of the video game I signed up for rather than a dull prologue.

For one, the map is highly vertical, with skyscrapers and dangling ropes allowing for dastardly escapes across the Z-axis. Building interiors are filled with dead ends, stairways, tight corridors, and distracting apparitions; running away has never been more fun in a MOBA than right here, and it’s owed in part to the excellent map.

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It’s also owed to Deadlock’s advanced movement, which is more reminiscent of modern shooters than the RTS mods making up most of Deadlock’s DNA. There’s a universal melee bind as well as parry mechanics and a stamina gauge. Air dashes, extended rolls, dodges in each direction; it all adds a rock-paper-scissors tactical richness to every encounter. If I want to engage I might roll in and use an ability, risking a melee counter-attack; but if I react in time, I can parry and practically guarantee a kill, or opt for a more cautious dodge roll and save my cooldowns.

(Image credit: Valve)

deadlock

Ganks for the memories

This might all sound like it invalidates gunplay, and it kind of does, relatively speaking. For instance, two of my favorite heroes, the duo Mo & Krill, have a piddly gun that’s only there to poke and secure kills. The real meat of the character is in their ability to tunnel beneath enemies and knock them all into the air, disarming them and locking one down with an extended stun. Headshots and long bombs do play a role, but they’re always second to securing the economic lead, using powerful abilities to win teamfights, and effective rotation around the map.

Deadlock takes a format that seemed to crystallize and stagnate with Dota 2’s success and upheaves the status quo.

Each lane comes equipped with zip lines, Deadlock’s method of fast travel between spawn and lanes. Other MOBAs offer limited teleportation, a speed boost when leaving base, out-of-combat mounts and so on. But Deadlock’s solution is to let players zip around at lightning speed from spawn to each of its lanes—so long as they don’t get shot off of it and stunned for an easy kill.

There’s a ton to be excited about with Deadlock, but most prominently, I am excited that this MOBA pushes the genre into genuinely new space. It might look from the outset like just another hero shooter or even just another MOBA, but Deadlock takes a format that seemed to crystallize and stagnate with Dota 2’s success and upheaves the status quo. It’s not “like League of Legends, but with guns” or “if Dota had a different camera angle;” it’s a properly new thing altogether, and I feel like I’ve barely charted the depth on offer here.

Deadlock beta: How to get inDeadlock characters: Full heroes and abilities listDeadlock crosshair: How to customize yours

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Have ult, will travel#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Ganks for the memories#

Have ult, will travel

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Ganks for the memories