At QuakeCon 2021, Arkane Studios showcased a deep dive video on Deathloop which has director Dinga Bakaba, campaign designer Dana Nightingale, and narrative designer Bennett Smith revealing Julianna's gameplay.
For those who don't know, players typically control Colt as he tries to escape the time loop by murdering several targets around Blackreef Island. We've seen gameplay videos of Colt's perspective before, but this deep dive is the first time we've seen it from Julianna's perspective, who you can choose to control and invade the worlds of other players.
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The video starts by detailing that Julianna can either be controlled by another player or with an AI. Players who control Julianna can pick to invade a random player's match or invade their friend's games to purposefully try and take them out. Whilst Colt has the power Reprise, which allows him to return from the dead when killed, Julianna only has one life and cannot be revived, so once players take her out she's gone from the match for good. This means Julianna players will need to be a lot more careful.
Beyond that, the two characters have the same weapons and powers. The developers liken playing to Julianna as being a detective, and that she's the Blackreef expert, whilst Colt is still trying to learn the map. According to Dinga Bakaba, the ultimate test in Deathloop is "playing against someone who is as strong as you and trying to outsmart them".
The developers also revealed that killing Julianna has benefits for Colt as well. Upon death, Julianna will always drop a high-quality weapon, but she might also drop a power upgrade, trinket, or some residium. Playing as Julianna is meant to be an optional mode, and this deep dive reveals that there aren't any campaign progression bonuses for choosing to play as her and that it's simply for the fun of it. Arkane refers to the online PvP as an anecdote generator, as players are likely to run into chaotic and random situations.
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