I was skeptical at first, but Deadlock has ensnared me in a way that’s vanishingly rare. I’ve played Valve’s unreleased multiplayer shooter for 500 hours so far, and I’ve no intention of stopping. It’s my new Team Fortress 2. Heck, it might be my new Dota. It’s basically both at once, which is a feat of sublime dark magic, and phooey to anyone who looks in and claims this isn’t doing anything new.
OK, maybe it’s doing something like what Monday Night Combat tried to do 14 years ago – but not really, because it does so much more and so much better. It’s a MOBA that’s a joy to exist in; to move in, to shoot in and to think in.
It’s still in invite-only alpha, but those are easy to bag nowadays (either via the game’s Steam community page, its Discord, or other social media sites and forums), and a huge update earlier this week brought a sweeping map redesign and newcomer friendly changes to last-hitting, a core part of the game. Even the veterans are getting lost, so now’s a great time to join us.
Deadlock Gameplay: Full Bot Match (4K 60fps) Watch on YouTube
First, a super brief, top level explainer for the uninitiated: Deadlock’s a third-person MOBA, which in this case means it’s about two teams of six advancing down lanes to blow up a big shouty magical robot thing in their rival’s base. Your hero gets stronger over the course of each match, hoovering up the souls of slain opponents or creeps – creeps being the li’l soldiers that march down each lane and valiantly give their lives for the greater struggle – and also so you can afford to buy magical pants that let you jump real high.