Arkane Deathloop - first-person action game from Arkane set on a time loop island

[conan_edw]

Seems interesting. Thought it'd be strictly multiplayer but thankfully it's not.

 

[Infinitron]

There were details on the Arkane 20 website: https://bethesda.net/en/article/7u3...eathloop-gameplay-reveal-and-next-gen-details

DEATHLOOP FIRST GAMEPLAY REVEAL & NEXT-GEN DETAILS

Welcome to the island of Blackreef, where the fun never stops and every day is a celebration of debauchery and chaos… unless you’re Colt, a prisoner in paradise who is being hunted by every person on the island.

Welcome to the island of Blackreef, where the fun never stops and every day is a celebration of debauchery and chaos…

Unless you’re Colt, a prisoner in paradise who is being hunted by every person on the island. Trapped in a timeloop, Colt is forced to relive the same deadly day over and over. So in order to break the loop and escape the island, Colt is going to have to do a little hunting of his own. His current target: Aleksis Dorsey, a self-proclaimed “Alpha Wolf” who’s throwing a little soiree at his ostentatious mansion. Normally we’re not party-crashers, but if we ever want to break this timeloop, Aleksis has to die. Party’s over, Aleksis.

USHERING IN A NEW GENERATION
DEATHLOOP is a uniquely Arkane take on the first-person shooter genre, and it is being developed for a new generation of hardware. DEATHLOOP will launch on console exclusively for PlayStation 5 this holiday season and will run at 4K/60FPS at launch. DEATHLOOP will also be launching on PC at the same time.

Leveraging the PS5’s cutting-edge graphics and technology like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, DEATHLOOP invites you into a beautiful and immersive world – the truest signature of an Arkane game. With stunning and stylish environments, memorable combat encounters, and the freedom to tackle each mission at your own pace, this is Arkane like you’ve never seen (or felt) it before, taken to the next level thanks to the PlayStation 5.

A RIVALRY FOR THE AGES
“After Dishonored 2 and Death of the Outsider, we wanted to experiment with something different,” says Game Director Dinga Bakaba. “A more intimate game centered around one big idea, one place, one challenge, one moment in time, and one relationship.”

DEATHLOOP tells the story of two supernatural assassins locked in an eternal clash. Every day is a battle of wits and weapons on the island of Blackreef, but Colt has found a way to put an end to the timeloop. Unfortunately, his rival Julianna Blake, doesn’t want the timeloop broken, and she will do everything in her power to stop him. There are many people in Colt’s way, but Julianna is by far the biggest threat on the island.

“From the moment Colt wakes up on the black sand beach of Blackreef with a very bad hangover, Julianna is with him every step of the way,” says Bakaba. “In his ear through the radio or lying in ambush in a dark alley, waiting to put a machete through his neck. She revels in both her victories and her defeats, but she is dead set on stopping Colt from breaking the loop. All she wants is to keep playing this deadly game of cat-and-well-armed-mouse, ad infinitum. She is a very flamboyant person, unburdened by the baggage of consequences or conscience.”

So while Colt is determined to put an end to the madness, Julianna never wants the party to end.

BREAK/PROTECT THE LOOP
Ready for the kicker? Julianna is also a playable character. While you will experience the main campaign as Colt, you also have the option to infiltrate another player’s game as Julianna and do some hunting. But keep in mind, that means someone else could be lurking in your campaign, waiting for the chance to strike. This is Arkane’s approach to an immersive multiplayer experience, where the focus is still on the main story, but there is unpredictability around every corner. “We felt this style of multiplayer, where we give people the option to play as the main antagonist, is a great way to really ramp up the level of trickery, tension, chaos and just plain unpredictability that we love in games like this,” explains Bakaba. “We feel that our game systems uniquely position us to allow for the confrontation between two players to be one not just of skill, but of wits, creativity and an open display of your personality.”

If this PvP element is disabled, Julianna will still appear your game from time to time, hunting you, but she will be AI-controlled. The developers at Arkane Lyon built this system with a hybrid approach in mind. “The focus is on the campaign and the story," Bakaba says. "And that campaign can be played with Julianna controlled only by the AI, or – and this is our recommendation – by a mix of A.I. and random players to experience the range of unpredictability and chaos that Julianna is capable of."

Both Colt and Julianna will have access to a powerful range of customizable weapons and abilities, and you can outfit them to suit your preferred playstyle. According to Bakaba, “While both characters will have access to some of the same main tools, there are also some major differences between their abilities. While Colt can make use of hacking devices and the possibility of returning when he dies, Julianna can take on the appearance of any NPC, and all of the island’s inhabitants are on her side. Colt is trying to accomplish his goals, whatever it takes, and Julianna is there to have fun. She wants Colt to keep playing her game. Julianna is about playing with fire and flair, and cares more about enjoying the ‘game’ than about winning every encounter.”

THE PARTY NEVER ENDS
We’ve mentioned the timeloop a few times, and you probably already have a picture in your head. Groundhog Day, right? Sure.

DEATHLOOP is Groundhog Day if every time February 2 started again, Phil found himself hounded by every maniac in the vicinity. And instead of breaking the loop by getting the girl and learning to live unselfishly, he could only escape by taking out a lot of people. So yeah, just like Groundhog Day.

As Colt, you have one day to eliminate eight targets who are responsible for keeping the loop functioning. If you miss even one, the loop will reset. But they’re scattered all over the island. How are you supposed to track them all down in just one cycle? In order to take out all of them before the day starts over, you’ll need to learn to manipulate the world around you, discovering your targets’ routines and schedules as you fight to solve the puzzle of the island. And the best part: You’re free to determine how to go about this. You can take every mission – main missions and side missions – at your own pace and in any order you choose as you assemble those puzzle pieces. Each day is an opportunity to learn and piece together the mystery. You’ll get stronger, you’ll try new things, you’ll discover new paths, and eventually, you’ll break this f***ing loop.

 

[DalekFlay]

Can't wait for the "turn Julia off" mod.

4k60 on console is cool, shows they prioritized that over bullshit effects. Hopefully that means the PC version runs well on mid-range hardware.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

https://bethesda.net/en/article/2Sq...rtbook?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Community

A Taste of the Free “Art of Arkane” Digital Artbook
June 11, 2020

To celebrate Arkane’s 20th anniversary, we’re giving away a free copy of The Art of Arkane digital artbook! Take a look back at some of the incredible art that inspired the worlds of Dishonored 2 and Prey, plus get a sneak peek at Arkane Lyon’s latest beauty: DEATHLOOP, coming this holiday season.
Arkane Studios
Available: 12/31/2099

To celebrate Arkane’s 20th anniversary, we’re giving away a free copy of The Art of Arkane digital artbook!
Take a look back at some of the incredible art that inspired the worlds of Dishonored 2 and Prey, plus get a sneak peek at Arkane Lyon’s latest beauty: DEATHLOOP, coming this holiday season. We’ve got a handful of select DEATHLOOP images below to give you a taste, plus commentary from DEATHLOOP’s Art Director, Sebastien Mitton. For more on how Mitton and the rest of the art team at Arkane Lyon and Arkane Austin develop each game’s artistic voice and style, check out our Art of Arkane feature.

Here’s how you can receive The Art of Arkane digital artbook and get a look at the concept art behind DEATHLOOP:

• Visit Arkane20.com
• Click “Join Arkane Outsiders” at the top of the page (this will take you to the sign-up module)
• Create/log into your Bethesda.net account (a Bethesda.net account is required to access The Art of Arkane artbook)
• To receive The Art of Arkane digital artbook: Visit your transaction history here and you’ll find the artbook in your “Product Codes” list

If you’ve already gone through the process and gotten your digital copy of The Art of Arkane, then congratulations! All you have to do now is download the new version that has all of the brand new DEATHLOOP concept art. Just like when you found it the first time, it will be in your transaction history in your “Product Codes” list.

The Art of Arkane

These two posters are part of a series that we had the great pleasure of producing with Sergei Kolesov. We feel these pieces give a great look at the personalities of our protagonist and antagonist: Colt is determined and bold, while Julianna is cool and confident, with a touch of mischief. Their outfits give clues to their history and their background, because as you know, we pay a lot of attention to detail in all elements of our approach to art and style, and fashion is a huge part of that.

Here, our artist Basile Moulin, who was an intern at the time, synthesized our research of clothes from the late 60s in order to create a distinct style through a varied lineup of interesting outfits that our NPCs can appropriate by decorating as an expression of themselves as they live in eternal revelry and chaos.

Here we see a very small sampling of Blackreef’s inhabitants as they will appear in the game. Our main focus – besides working on clothes, lines, silhouettes and accessories – was to find different methods to apply paints, powder and metal flakes to their designs. Indeed, when we create, we put ourselves in the shoes of the characters. They are the ones who have applied these pigments on themselves in different ways, reflecting their state of mind. Applying this concept to all our NPCs’ fashion choices is what guarantees us consistency and visual variety.

I have to confess the masks gave us a lot of trouble during preproduction. Too common at first, too stylized afterwards, too scary, too comical… Until we came across showcase plastic mannequins from the 60s, each with their own style. Next, we analyzed the haircuts of the famous designer Vidal Sassoon, makeup photos of Twiggy, backstage photos of the Beatles, and more iconic images from the 60s. We had the starting momentum to create our own range of masks, while communicating a twisted version of the 60s with the famous Arkane secret sauce.

This board shows our desire to create an original visual juxtaposition. The action takes place on Blackreef, an isolated northern island, surrounded by a frigid sea. Blackreef is inspired by the Faroe Islands and Irish/Scottish architecture. The island has been molded by harsh climate conditions. The impressive cliffs and colorful grasslands make the setting unique.
For decades, various events and experiments shaped the look of the island. Radars and antennas, bunkers, security and communication devices… All these elements give a new flavor to this place – an air of mystery. What a perfect place to set up an eternal party in our own version of the 60s. There’s a certain degree of visual madness – a wide spectrum of situations and a distinct visual style.

Once again, we are innovating to create interesting spaces – a source of excitement for players who like to explore and discover the secrets hidden in our worlds. And what a pleasure to create our own lines and develop new materials while keeping everything easy to read and allowing for different styles of play. We can't wait to see how you take ownership of Blackreef!

 

[Zombra]

Can't wait for the "turn Julia off" mod.

I don't want to get in a big argument over it but seems like that would be really disappointing. Why would you remove the main villain from the game?

They are (hopefully) making a huge effort to put a strong design on the "constantly chased by Mr. X" type gameplay. After decades of complaints about poor AI in games, an adversary that can travel the whole map and use all kinds of chicanery sounds intriguing. We'll see how well they pull it off of course.

 

[DalekFlay]

I don't want to get in a big argument over it but seems like that would be really disappointing. Why would you remove the main villain from the game?

Not even speaking for myself necessarily, I'd have to play it and see. A lot of people will fucking hate than random AI "griefing" though.

 

[Zombra]

I don't want to get in a big argument over it but seems like that would be really disappointing. Why would you remove the main villain from the game?

Not even speaking for myself necessarily, I'd have to play it and see. A lot of people will fucking hate than random AI "griefing" though.

Yeah. As mentioned above, it seems like multiplayer "invaders" won't feel like anything but griefers. (If I play this, I'll probably try multiplayer once or twice and then be like 'fuck these pros') But an AI enemy that roams could be awesome.

 

[Frusciante]

Not sold on how this looks yet. But that being said, I really appreciate that arkane focuses on art style and gameplay rather than pure graphical fidelity.

 

[udm]

CHAZ Simulator

 

[Child of Malkav]

https://www.vg247.com/2020/06/30/deathloop-interview-ps5-dishonored-persona-dark-souls-cluedo/

Deathloop interview – a strange blend of Dishonored, Persona, Dark Souls and… Cluedo?

Deathloop is a game for anyone who felt shackled by Dishonored’s finger-wagging morality system.

You’re crashing a party at the end of the world, stuck inside a time loop, and the only way to escape is to shoot your way out, killing eight targets before the clock strikes midnight and the loop resets. Deathloop presents a world without consequence, where even those you kill will resurrect when this violent groundhog day spins back up.

“You can really go crazy, go loud, go silent, explore as much as you want or be as fast as you want, but without missing out on the content,” game director Dinga Bakaba explains. “So, there is something that furthers the Dishonored paradigm to an extent, in terms of gameplay.”

The game takes place on Blackreef, a fictional locale inspired by the Faroe Islands and set during the swinging ‘60s – the height of retro decadence. The denizens of this place want the loop to continue. It’s a never-ending party where you can consume what you want and sleep with who you like – none of it matters because your bodies and minds won’t remember.

“It is supposed to be a gigantic party if it was not for one person who is the ultimate party crasher for eternity: Colt,” Bakaba says, referencing the game’s protagonist. “It’s a strange place in the world. It’s a place that was an army base at some point, where strange experiments have happened. There is something special on this island. But the people who are now living there – the people who are of the AEON programme – have invested in the island in order to be a party that never ends. A party at the end of time, forever.”

As party pooper Colt, you’re the next-door neighbour who’s banging on the wall because the music is too loud. You’re a part of this shindig, even though you don’t want to be, and you’re prepared to shoot the DJ. It feels like a distillation of everything Arkane has created. Like Dishonored, the game is split into levels, and it’s in these levels where you will seek out your eight assassination targets: the Visionaries.



“You choose which district you want to go to, and what you want to do there,” Bakaba tells me. “You can go and do some assassinations, or you can just go and explore a district where there are no targets. So, there are a number of things you can do. So, it’s a little bit like a Dishonored game, but where you would make your schedule for the day, in a way like a Persona game, where you would organise your day, and say, ‘Okay, today I want to do this, and then that, and then this.’ But the structure is closer to Dishonored, with a bit more choice and agency about how you go about things.”

Subscribe to the VG247 newsletterGet all the best bits of VG247 delivered to your inbox every Friday!
There’s also that clock, counting down to midnight, and each objective you take on will reduce the time you have left for the remaining targets when you return to your hub. If you run the clock down before killing them all, you’re back at the start of the loop, each time with newfound knowledge for levels, NPC routines, routes, and tactics. There’s a glimmer of DNA from Prey: Mooncrash – not quite a roguelike, but designed to be mastered through repetition and experimentation.

“The acquisition of knowledge, and understanding what’s happening on Blackreef, and basically, as the trailer says, piecing together the puzzle, that’s the core of the game,” Bakaba says. “Understanding what is happening, who are those people, what are the rules of this world, what are the rules of the island, and then, how can I actually do this thing? Because when you say, ‘Eight targets, one day,’ that sounds easy. Actually, it’s not as easy as it looks.

“So, trying to unpack all those things, learning a little bit more about the targets, what they do, who they are, what makes them tick, what are their weaknesses, etc, and trying to line them up perfectly, is the core of the game. One of the ways we like to call this is the murder puzzle. It’s like an inverted Cluedo. You have to make a perfect run, and you will need lots of knowledge and understanding.”

Spoiler

Then there’s a layer of unpredictability in the form of Julianna, the game’s main antagonist, who can be controlled by another human – an element of Arkane’s unreleased hybrid multiplayer game The Crossing. Arkane wanted to find a way to make some of the targets as dangerous as the player, giving them similar tools and abilities, as well as lending them an unpredictability that makes each loop feel fresh. The most unpredictable AI in the world isn’t AI at all – it’s another human who just jumped through a window and ran around the block to shoot you in the back of the head and teabag your corpse.

“All the others on the island have an agenda,” Bakaba says. “You know what they do, or you soon know what they do, and then you try to manipulate that in order to line them up, in order to make the perfect loop. The golden loop, as we call it, of assassination. Yet we wanted one of them to be unpredictable. We wanted that character to be, as I said, unpredictable – sometimes loud, sometimes sneaky, crafty. And it’s also in her character. I really like her character. She’s very larger than life, very extreme in her behaviour.”

This choice was the defining moment of production on Deathloop – where the entire concept came together. Julianna interrupts Colt as he tries to take each target. She can either be controlled by a human or by AI, and she’s kitted out with as many crafty tools as the protagonist. You might be moving through a level stealthily, only to hear a shot ring out as the screen fades to black – a distant sniper round from an eagle-eyed player. But Arkane hopes players also lean into her character while attempting to reset Colt’s loop. You see, this is all just a game to Julianna – to her, Colt is a part of the party. She enjoys the hunt, she enjoys the fight. She doesn’t even mind losing, since there’s no consequence. Julianna just wants to be a worthy adversary, and the hope is that players embody that persona when invading the games of others, too.



“If you want to invade someone, you play as Julianna, and you are in someone else’s game,” Bakaba says. “Either you’re waiting for them in ambush, or you’re alerting NPCs of their presence. You’re the villain, basically. I think it’s something that we’re happy about, because, since The Crossing, several games have been playing with that idea of multiplayer integrated in the campaign. And something we really like, that’s the type of multiplayer that we find immersive, and maybe complimentary of what we do. So, that’s why we wanted to try it.”

One of Julianna’s powers is called Masquerade and it allows her to assume the form of anyone on the island, including Colt himself. You might be sneaking up on what you think is an NPC – a Julianna player in disguise – only for them to spin around at the last minute to catch you unaware. It reminds me of how Prey’s mimics – alien creatures that can transform into inanimate objects – create a sense of unease as you creep through Talos-1. As well as ambushes, Arkane has seen the Masquerade ability deployed to confuse – a player taking on the form of Colt – and to make it harder for the protagonist to prioritise targets when Julianna is backed up by other NPCs who are gunning for Colt.

Of course, Colt has his own range of powers, including a Dishonored-style teleport that allows him to reach vantage points and attack from elevated positions. But this is a more action-focused game than Dishonored, so the power wheel has been thrown out for a more direct approach. Here you load up on abilities and guns before a mission. You can see some other powers in the gameplay trailer too, where Colt throws NPCs over ledges, through windows, and into the air with a kind of telekinetic push.



“That’s a power we call Karnesis,” Bakaba says. “So, we wanted to take another approach, compared to something like Dishonored, where you unlock a ton of abilities, and you have all of them accessible at any time. In Deathloop, you can take a number of weapons with you, and a number of abilities, and you can select them as you unlock them. So, there is a choice to be made before each mission, in a way.”

Stealth still plays a part in Deathloop, but it’s not the focus. There’s no non-lethal playthrough here. Death comes quickly for you and your enemies, and stealth is just another tool to give you the upper hand at the start of an encounter. It’s about killing swiftly, stylishly, and preferably in one smooth motion.

“This is something we are taking from Dishonored,” Bakaba says. “Encounters are very lethal, up to the point where you start to improve your character. I like to say that you can be something like a superpowered John Wick. But being sneaky can also be enhanced by abilities. There are some abilities that are dedicated to that, to sneaking around, to making the best of stealth. So, you can play using stealth, although playing non-lethally is not something Colt is into, for a number of reasons. But the most important reason is, the only way he’s getting out of the island is by killing eight targets before the end of the day. So, because people don’t really die per se, because of the time loop, he just goes for the fastest option, which is either sneaking past them, or eliminating them through stealth, or action.”

Deathloop is a game for anyone who felt shackled by Dishonored’s finger-wagging morality system.

You’re crashing a party at the end of the world, stuck inside a time loop, and the only way to escape is to shoot your way out, killing eight targets before the clock strikes midnight and the loop resets… wait a minute…

Deathloop is coming exclusively to PS5 and PC and it’s up to you to break this fucking loop later this year.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Infinitron]

 

[toro]

It looks like they took Dishonored powers + Guns + Prey Mooncrash narrative + Bioshock influences, they mixed them all together and the end result is a salad named Deathloop.

I'm not sure somebody asked for this however I'm pretty sure the game will be derivative and/or mediocre at best.

Arkane's games until now were good, not great but really good, however Deathloop seems to be their first game which doesn't bring anything new/interesting to the table.

Probably Colantonio was the real visionary behind their games.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Perhaps, but perhaps not.
The problem with Dishonored was that the game was designed to be played like a stealth game, but the PC's powers and arsenal were fundamentally that of a pure action game, mostly meant for combat prowess rather than infiltration.
What's been shown so far of Deathloop suggests the levels and enemies seem to be designed for combat, so the insane powers are a much better fit and the game can very well possess the challenge Dishonored lacked.
Take for example EYE: it's game feel and levels are very simple, plus the AI is janky (seeing how they're pretty much are CS multi-layer bots), but the powers and weapons alone make the game a joy to play with.

 

[Terenty]

Its a real shame that the game is map based and not a single world and the time is not real, but action dependant. The exhilaration and rush of pulling off the perfect run just wont be there

 

[DalekFlay]

The problem with Dishonored was that the game was designed to be played like a stealth game, but the PC's powers and arsenal were fundamentally that of a pure action game, mostly meant for combat prowess rather than infiltration.

It was designed for both, and there's plenty of powers focused on stealth like ash bodies, mind control, rat transformation, etc. Dishonored gets the stupidest complaints on here, I swear.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

I love stealthy gameplay, so if Deathloop doesn't give a real incentive to be a proper sneak fuck (i.e. maybe too easy?) and everything can be solved Rambo style, I might just as well not play it at all.

 

[Bad Sector]

The problem with Dishonored was that the game was designed to be played like a stealth game, but the PC's powers and arsenal were fundamentally that of a pure action game, mostly meant for combat prowess rather than infiltration.

Both the levels and the powers have approaches for direct combat, i personally played all Dishonored games the bloodiest way possible and never found them to be lacking on that front nor felt that i was forced to play stealthy... why do you think that the game was designed to be played like a stealth game?

 

[vortex]

I love stealthy gameplay, so if Deathloop doesn't give a real incentive to be a proper sneak fuck (i.e. maybe too easy?) and everything can be solved Rambo style, I might just as well not play it at all.

Yeah, You can play it as sneaky assassin.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Dishonored gets the stupidest complaints on here, I swear.

The game wants to be Garret but they give you Skeletor's powers.
Corvo is a unstoppable death machine even just with Blink, but they also give you shit like creating gusts strong enough to kill people, conjuring swarms of killer rats that most enemies are powerless against, the ability to fucking stop time itself and the mind control is more like possession as you don't leave your body exposed to danger.

why do you think that the game was designed to be played like a stealth game?

The devs kept saying in pre-launch interviews that dishonored is a stealth game, how they took so much inspiration from thief and the level design is clearly tailored towards an evasive playstyle.
You then have the fact, enemies in Dishonored 1 (except for the supernatural assassins that pretty just appear in one level), just can't deal with Corvo, they have no means to reliably fight him and pose no challenge to him unless the player sucks.

 

[Child of Malkav]

Dishonored 1\2\DotO are objectively some of the easiest games ever. Like, you have to try to be bad at these games.

 

[DalekFlay]

Dishonored is a very easy game. That is a solid criticism to make. "It lets you play in stealth or combat!!!" is not a good criticism to make, nor is "there are no stealth powers!!!" since there objectively are.

 

[Bad Sector]

The devs kept saying in pre-launch interviews that dishonored is a stealth game, how they took so much inspiration from thief and the level design is clearly tailored towards an evasive playstyle.

Do you have any quotes about that? Are you sure it wasn't "you can play it as a stealth game" instead of "it is a stealth game"? The game itself even tells you when you start it that there isn't a wrong way to play it.

The levels allowing for stealthy playthroughs doesn't mean they are made only for stealthy playthroughs nor that using combat takes a second priority. Allowing for stealthy gameplay imposes some requirements to a level and these must exist even if the player takes a fully direct combat approach (though there is nothing stopping you from taking advantage of stealth routes and then going towards combat).

You then have the fact, enemies in Dishonored 1 (except for the supernatural assassins that pretty just appear in one level), just can't deal with Corvo, they have no means to reliably fight him and pose no challenge to him unless the player sucks.

Yeah, well, you can say that for pretty much most games really. But that doesn't make the game a stealth game, it just makes it easy.

TBH what you are saying isn't really surprising to me, i've seen a lot of people making the jump from "this game allows a stealth gameplay" to "this is a stealth game", though i'm still not sure why that happens. Some games are meant to be played in a variety of ways - and Dishonored specifically even tells you that explicitly.

IMO what separates a stealth game from a game that allows stealth is that in the former you simply *have* to use stealth and there isn't any other way around. This is why Thief is a stealth game (even if there is combat, it is a very last sort exception, you can't win the game only via combat) whereas Dishonored is not a stealth game, but supports stealth if you want to play it like that.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

"It lets you play in stealth or combat!!!" is not a good criticism to make

That was not the criticism, the criticism is that the game's combative playstyle as it stands, is in the end bad for the game because it takes all challenge from the game.

nor is "there are no stealth powers!!!" since there objectively are.

The problem isn't that they can't be used in a stealth manner, the problem is that they are so damn op that the only reason to use them for stealth purposes is for players that do wanna massively gimp themselfves to play it like a stealth game.

The levels allowing for stealthy playthroughs doesn't mean they are made only for stealthy playthroughs nor that using combat takes a second priority.

Combat does take second priority, because there are no actual combat challenges.
There's a lot of cool stealth challenges, but no worthwhile fights to engange in (save for the supernatural assassins boss, nearly at the end of the game).

You then have the fact, enemies in Dishonored 1 (except for the supernatural assassins that pretty just appear in one level), just can't deal with Corvo, they have no means to reliably fight him and pose no challenge to him unless the player sucks.

Yeah, well, you can say that for pretty much most games really. But that doesn't make the game a stealth game, it just makes it easy.

I am not talking about player skill but enemy design.
In any combat focused game, enemies can fight the player, they can defend or even counter his attacks, they can put him on the defensive and punish him for any mistakes.
But in Dishonored, save for swordfighting and the pistols, enemies can't do shit against Corvo. They haven't got any means to properly defend themselves against him let alone fight back.

And that was my original point, when I said to toro that Deathloop might very well be a good, fun game because my impression so far is that it's a straight up action game focused solely on the combat.
Plus that if even a game like EYE, which has no polish whatsoever, can be super fun to play because all the crazy powers and weapons it gives you, then there's no reason Deathloop can't be equally fun...

 

[Bad Sector]

Combat does take second priority, because there are no actual combat challenges. There's a lot of cool stealth challenges, but no worthwhile fights to engange in (save for the supernatural assassins boss, nearly at the end of the game). [...] I am not talking about player skill but enemy design.
In any combat focused game, enemies can fight the player, they can defend or even counter his attacks, they can put him on the defensive and punish him for any mistakes.

I'm not referring to player skill. These are all about the enemy AI (which is what i was referring to myself too). The enemies have a specific set of actions they can do and they'll only be able to perform those actions regardless of how the player approaches them. Having a small set of possible actions doesn't make a game any less combat oriented - i mean, as an extreme example check a game like Serious Sam where all the enemies can do is stand in place or run directly towards the player and perhaps shoot at them now and then (depending on the enemy), but that is a 100% combat focused game.

Of course it is also that the game must allow for you to use a stealthy approach - at any time too - so they must also be beatable by stealthy players (keep in mind that there aren't only two extreme ways to play the game - full combar or ghosting - but players can play at a variety of ways and switch between them at any time). This isn't combat taking a back seat, it is the game trying to accommodate multiple play styles. This means that other play styles wont be done in perfection, but immersive sims by their nature are not pure games - a (good) pure stealth game will be better at stealth and a (good) pure combat game will be better at combat, but immersive sims allow you to mix these approaches (FWIW if you watch the Deus Ex postmortem video by Warren Spector, this was his main fear during the game's release - every single individual thing that Deus Ex did was done in some other game better and he hoped that despite that, people would appreciate that you could do all of them in the same game).

And besides it makes sense for the enemies to not be able to keep up with you - you are supposed to essentially have superpowers, the enemies are regular humans and all they have going for them is their numbers.