Doing huge numbers on Steam, Deadlock’s blend of genres feels like the next big thing
Popular game developer Valve has been continuing to kill the game following the release of Counter-Strike 2 back in 2023. Early in 2024, shortly after leaks showing off a new game codenamed “Neon Prime,” Valve dropped a closed alpha for its new title, Deadlock. The game was certainly a departure from Valve’s recent projects, as it carved out its own genre — a mix of a character shooter and a MOBA. The alpha was released with a small cast of 19, compared to the 172 in League of Legends, the biggest competitor to the new title. Despite having to innovate constantly to stay afloat compared to the mainstay titles, Valve has seen tremendous success throughout the closed alpha, especially in recent months.
The Cast
A huge part of Deadlock’s success is the cast of incredibly unique and stylized characters. The lineup consists of creatures and beings of all sorts, each bringing an entire backstory and personality to the “alternate history” map of 1950s New York. Characters like Mina and Drifter (the characters on either side of the image) are both vampires, but are completely different in motivation and playstyle. Mina, coming from nobility, was given immortality in the form of vampirism as a gift from her parents to help her reckon with the assassination of her husband only days after their wedding.
Even more depth is given to the characters based on the goal of each match. After fending off the enemy team in games that can range from 20 minutes to over an hour, you must defeat one of two patrons, the “Arch Mother” and the “Hidden King” (seen in the cover image). After a patron is defeated, it is said to grant any single wish to the winning team, giving each cast member unique aspirations in the world expertly crafted by Valve.
The Cursed Apple
Deadlock’s map, affectionately known as “The Cursed Apple,” is a steampunk-ified ’50s New York. It creates a compelling atmosphere for battle while supplying no end of shortcuts, easter eggs, and parkour spots. It is the only map currently in the game, but with all the details it has to offer and the expanding cast of characters as the focus, matches never feel the same.
Gameplay Loop
The gameplay loop of Deadlock is very comparable to a regular MOBA. The game begins with each team at their respective spawns as they split out into three main lanes of play: York (yellow), Greenwich (green), and Broadway (blue). Both teams poke at each other, clear the minions that spawn in waves from each side, and clear camps of bonus minions hidden in and on top of buildings around the map. All of these goals gain you souls (the match currency) and the ability to buy items as upgrades for your character.
As the game progresses, fights break out and members of either team may die, which can be incredibly punishing, with respawn times that scale with the number of deaths and how far into the match they occur. As you push minions and players out of each lane, there are mini-bosses to kill that gain your team ground toward the enemy patron. All while that is happening, events are transpiring all over the map: a boss that spawns in the subway beneath the center lane, slot machines called “Sinners Sacrifice” that are quite lucrative, and cursed Urns that can allow losing teams to catch up in a big way or make the lead in souls far greater. Games culminate in large battles at either team’s base where their patron resides, and the result is determined by the team that takes the opponents out first.
Just Play It Already
With the addition of a 6-versus-6 (rather than the standard 5v5), the element of aiming in an over-the-shoulder third-person shooter perspective, and the smooth three-dimensional movement, this game is doing so much and yet smashing every aspect. The style stands out so far above many other triple-A games coming out right now, and I’m glad it’s getting the attention it deserves, surpassing the likes of Overwatch in Steam concurrent players while it’s still invite-only. This is only the start: six characters just released to the game, Valve is making constant hot-fixes and balance changes, while still polishing old characters. If you aren’t tapped into Deadlock, you can find invites all over, and it’s more than worth it.
