Deceit Review

Deceit is is a game of deception and co-operation, but also a concept that can fall flat on itself. Imagine the scenario: you’re trapped with five others players. Forced to carry out the insidious tasks of a crazed psychopath who has infected two of you with a mutant virus. No one knows who’s infected, but you must all work together to survive. As the lights blackout, the two infected transform and their lust for blood reins. Not knowing who the betrayers are you must be cautious of your fellow survivors.

Let me give another scenario, one closer to my experience of Deceit. The first matches were my fault for not viewing the tutorials, but I was eager to jump in and see how things played out. I regretted my decision. Playing follow the leader, I stuck by my teammates and followed them, trying to get a better idea of how to play. I survived the first blackout, but unbeknownst to me, I had been following one of the infected players. He in turn, through voice chat, convinced the others I was the infected. Mic-less at the time, I typed in chat, no I’m not infected, but it was for nothing. I was cast out, shot at, downed and left at the mercy of the other players. It was at this point, there are three possible outcomes. Bleed out and respawn, be revived or voted out. The latter of which was my fate.

Once voted out, regardless of being a survivor or an infected player, it’s game over. You can either continue spectating or leave and queue for another round. After leaving the match, I decided it was best for me to view the tutorials and try again. The tutorials are a collection of short YouTube videos narrated by one of the developers. Each one around three minutes long, they give you an overview of how to play, what you need to do to survive and/or deceive.

Before I headed back in, I took a moment to look over the playable characters. With four to choose from, these characters are avatars of your choosing. There isn’t any backstory or information provided. You can though, level them up and unlock unique traits. Customisable options are in too, with a selection of outfits, hats and accessories. Even the titular mutant that players transform into can be customised. It’s not a bad setup up all, but it’s very geared towards fans of loot boxes and collectables. I couldn’t have cared less about the look of my character as they, while diverse, all looked generic.

With a better understanding of how to play, mic turned on, I dived in. At the start of each match, you’re each provided a gun and left in an opening area. Dotted around are objectives that players need to complete to proceed and escape. The game master, a twisted Saw-like psychopath, controls when the blackouts occur. In the brief moments of light, you have to run around and complete various objectives. This can be as simple as activating a switch or standing within a highlighted area. Some can be a little more taxing, with one requiring you to shoot spinning targets. Another requires the help of other players, which involves pressing pads on the floor.

Completing these objectives improves your chances of survival. Each completed objective provides you with useful items, such as a camera which stuns mutants, a tracker, or a chemical injection which kills a player. The blackout period is unavoidable, but with enough completed objectives it shortens and unlocks the next area. You must get to it fast, though, otherwise, it’s game over from a lethal poison so kindly released by the games master.

So far, I've played as an innocent, but like the nature of the game, everyone believes they’re innocent. And deception is a difficult skill to master. If you’re one of the unfortunate infected at the start of the game, don’t fret. Your role is much more enjoyable. When the lights are on, you need to slow down the team. Deactivate switches, waste time and if using your mic, throw accusations out. All to throw the scent off yourself. It can always backfire, but that’s part of the fun. You can see your level of infection onscreen. If you’re sneaky enough you can drink from blood packs placed around the map to gain strength. But be warned, if you’re seen or caught doing so prepare for the wave of accusations. When the blackout occurs, this is when you become the infected creature. Names become hidden and you must hunt down the others.

Graphically, Deceit isn’t terrible, but it’s also lacking. Built on the Crytek Engine it’s rather demanding and doesn’t utilise the potential of the engine. Still, it still does a fine job of immersing you with excellent environments and lighting. The character models and animations aren't perfect. They're decent enough, though, that they don’t detract you from the experience. The biggest issue though, for me, was the crashing. There were times where the game would lock up resulting in having to close the game via the task manager.

The matchmaking is worldwide and I found myself being placed with players from the US or Europe. Sometimes with those who don't speak English. What doesn’t help with the community is the recently removed option for parties of four/five players. Meaning you’re forced to play with strangers. This alone will put people off, as it could make for an excellent party game among friends. The option is still there but only available as a LAN-party.

Deceit is a game of deception and co-operation. A concept excellent on paper. In practice though, it does fall flat on itself. It has a problematic community which can be tough on new players. If Deceit allowed friends to play together it could make for a great party game. Unfortunately, this is not the vision of the developers. They'd rather see strangers forced to work together in dire situations.