Footage from Valve’s upcoming hero shooter, Deadlock, leaked online on May 22. New Valve games are always exciting, but community reactions to Deadlock are surprisingly mixed.
In a Reddit thread about the Deadlock footage dated May 22, commenters agreed Deadlock’s character design “doesn’t mesh” with itself, and the characters don’t look like they should share a game together. Other users criticized the game for being a team-based hero shooter at a time when the genre is more saturated than ever.
Valve arguably created the genre with the Team Fortress games. It isn’t 2007 anymore, though, and Deadlock now has to compete with established names like Overwatch 2 and Valorant. Valve has to do something to set Deadlock apart from its contemporaries if it wants the game to succeed, but players feel Deadlock looks like “[Valve] took characters from a few off-brand hero shooters that didn’t pan out and slammed them together.”
The character designs definitely clash with each other. Characters like Ivy, Warden, and Infernus have a sleek, 1920s noir-esque design, whereas Grey Talon and Kelvin look like they come straight from Paladins.
Amid the criticism, a few Redditors defended Deadlock for its unique qualities. One user said: “Heavy MOBA mechanics like lanes, items, economy, and PvE enemies makes this more like a 3rd person DOTA 2 than what’s widely considered a team-based shooter.” In the leaked video, the only character we see in action is an unnamed robot with an energy pistol. The player whizzes around the map on a zipline, suggesting Valve is focusing on mobility in Deadlock and could let players easily switch between lanes.
Valve doesn’t need to prove its proficiency in the shooter and MOBA genres. History repeatedly shows Valve’s ability to excel in the medium, but fans aren’t wrong to be concerned if the finished product ends up anything like the leaked footage.
