Introductions
Welcome! If you need a handy recap surrounding the events of Deathloop’s crazy plot, we’ve got you covered with our full story recap. Within this we’ll cover all the big plot points, the three different endings and all the bits and pieces in between. With that in mind, let’s dive in!
The world of Deathloop
Deathloop is set in the 1960’s within the subarctic island of Blackreef. The island itself was originally a small fishing settlement back in 1931, playing host to a military base where experiments were conducted on local temporal anomalies. The island is split into four predominant areas playing host to 8 different “Visionaries”, which happen to be the targets you need to assassinate. Before we get to that though, Blackreef’s areas include Karl’s Bay, Fristad Rock, Updaam and The Complex. The island soon came under ownership of the AEON Program back in the 1930’s, founded by scientist Egor Serling. He wanted to try and hone these anomalies to gain immortality by living in an infinite time loop. Serling attracted 8 eccentric individuals to his cause, branding them his “Visionaries”. Fanatical followers called Eternalists soon followed, dedicated to serving those aforementioned Visionaries. Thanks to the time loop and its never-ending repeated day, the Visionaries decided to hold a never-ending party, hosted by Aleksis “The Wolf” Dorsey. Anything they do is without fear of consequence or death, given when the loop resets at midnight it restores everything back to its original state with no knowledge of the day’s events.
What is Colt’s mission?
The first playable segment of the game plunges you into the point of view of an unknown man named Colt Vahn. A vivid dream of being murdered by an unknown woman (soon revealed to be Julianna) awakens Colt with a start. Colt awakens on a beach, hungover, with strange messages floating through the air and alternate versions of himself urging him to break the time loop he’s trapped in. In order to do that, Colt needs to kill all 8 Visionaries in a single day to break the loop, once and for all.
Who is Colt?
Across the course of your adventure, more information about Colt is drip-fed through radio chatter with Julianna and numerous audio and text logs dotted across the environment. Colt is dead-set on breaking the endless time loop, likening Blackreef to a prison. Originally, Colt was captain on the Air Force, although which country is still unknown. Given his American accent, it’s safe to assume it’s probably the US. In 1938 Colt became a member of an expedition known as “Operation Horizon” which charted the island of Blackreef and was soon reported missing. Of course, this would be because Colt got caught in the middle of the time loop. After being institutionalized at the Dargyey Asylum, Egor Serling broke him out.
Who is Julianna? What is her relationship with Colt?
Colt’s plan to kill the Visionaries is made all the more difficult by the new head of security, Julianna Blake. She warns the Visionaries and the Eternalists of Colt’s plans to hunt them down. Julianna spends a lot of time taunting Colt across the game, showing up on the radio and clearly knowing more than she’s letting on. She – like him – retains her memories with every loop that passes. Unlike Colt though, Julianna has been at this a long time. According to one bit of narration late on, it’s been over 17 years. Although to be fair, Julianna also claims to have written every single text log on the island too, so it’s hard to know if she’s telling the truth or just messing with Colt’s head. One thing that’s not a lie though is Colt’s ties with Julianna. It turns out Julianna is actually Colt’s daughter.
Why is Julianna hunting Colt?
Julianna has a serious grudge against Colt, resenting him for abandoning her and her Mother during the aforementioned Operation Horizon. It’s not actually Colt’s fault he got trapped inside Blackreef’s anomaly, but Julianna feels betrayed nonetheless. Julianna is also dead-set on keeping these Visionaries on Blackreef indefinitely. Given how sociopathic and destructive these men and women are, Julianna believes Blackreef is a better place for them to be kept away from society. Colt undoing this and stopping the time loop would be more harmful than good, hence why she’s trying to stop him. During the game’s climax, Julianna reveals that Colt started murdering her too, trying to save his own daughter from the loop after having second thoughts about the AEON Program. However, she soon started fighting back after getting tired of living in fear of him. So now she’s started hunting him down – and actually liking it too.
How does Colt break the loop?
After some investigative work, Colt comes up with a plan to kill seven of the Visionaries. Julianna remains the end-goal though, given her retained memories and ability to predict what he’s going to do allow her to hide in the Loop, the structure powering Blackreef that looms in the distance. Completing the 7 different main missions eventually opens up the final mission, aptly titled “Ending it.” With everything in place, Colt heads to Karl’s Bay in the morning, sabotages Frank’s fireworks and kills Harriet in her own lair. Next up, Colt skips across to The Complex at noon, using a nullifier to ruin Egor’s experiment and make sure he shows up at Aleksis’ party. Across the game we learn that Fia and Charlie have been engaging in some frisky alone time at Fristad Rock. Within a hidden lair deep underground, Colt sneaks in and takes them both out. Colt can either flood the pumping station or just shoot them both together; the choice is yours and the end result is another double death. Finally, the big party in Updaam sees Colt sneak in and take out all three remaining Visionaries. Wenjie is already there, having been enticed to go earlier in the game during the mission “What Wenjie wants”. With Egor’s experiment ruined, he shows up too and ends up hanging out on the roof with Wenjie. Aleksis, unsurprisingly, entertains his guests downstairs. After taking out all three – and listening as Frank kills himself with the sabotaged fireworks – Colt makes a dash for the RAK, a hidden rocket that serves as transportation to find Julianna.
How do you get the best Deathloop ending?
Deathloop eventually comes to the climactic resolution of the story. Colt heads up to the Loop in his rocket and confronts Julianna. Here, the game presents three different choices to finish the game. The first sees you kill Julianna and break the loop, suffering whatever uncertain future lies ahead. This the game’s “best” ending. Here, Colt shoots Julianna before she finishes her three count, downing the remaining Visionary. In order to break the loop, Colt jumps to his death. When Colt awakens, he finds himself on the beach again, no longer in the loop and free to live his life as he sees fit. Julianna shows up too and holds Colt at gunpoint. However, she decides to spare his life and leave.
What about if Colt doesn’t commit suicide?
The second ending here follows the same instructions as the first, but instead of jumping to your doom, Colt can simply wait for time to reset and thus, allow the time loop to repeat. As Colt is still alive, the mission is technically not finished and you wake up again inside Blackreef’s anomaly.
What about the third ending?
The third and final ending essentially sees you face to face with Julianna but instead of shooting her, you simply refuse to do so. Off the back of this, Julianna and Colt both wreak havoc on Blackreef island together, hunting one another, the Visionaries and everyone else stuck in the loop. Until time resets of course, then it’s back to square one again. Technically, all roads lead to the first ending though, where Colt breaks free from the time loop but loses his daughter in the process. It is, of course, a little disappointing that the game just sort of concludes so abruptly but the bittersweet conclusion does suit Colt’s story pretty well What did you think of Deathloop’s story? Have we missed any crucial details in this recap? Do let us know in the comments below!
