Just curious what the demographic here is like. The game seems to be appealing, at least for now, to both crowds. I am an FPS player whereas my friend is a ex-MOBA player and we usually struggle to find games we can enjoy equally. So far we are playing Deadlock a lot together though, and I am more hooked than I expected to be when I first realised this was primarily a MOBA.
If you started playing this game for a different reason feel free to share as well.
I played Dota about a decade ago when I got a closed beta invitation but a few years later switched to just watching it. I have more fun watching Dota than playing it, but I do still like it. I also play a lot of shooters and action RPGs, plus a big grab bag of indie games.
I know in the popular conversation, everyone compares Deadlock to Smite or Paragon, but my view is that it’s a lot more like SMNC, which also leaned hard on third-person shooter combat like Deadlock while still having the prototypical MOBA setup. From this perspective, I find it kind of funny to hear people marvel that the TPS+MOBA gameplay concept is so fresh. I’m just thinking, “where were you a decade ago to play SMNC?” The biggest thing I miss about SMNC was the “sports on TV” theme. Super underrated aesthetic in gaming. I guess occult noir is, too.
It’s funny how Dota this game really is. Players come from outside Dota and go “whoa, this is so crazy,” but all the Dota players go “yeah, Dota has long had that.” In-game community build guides, the item design philosophy, the large amounts of disables. I was watching Dota streamers try the game for the first time and they get top souls despite still having to read tooltips.
Have you played The Finals? That has a very similar theme. There was another FPS game in development called Combat Champions that also trying to do this but it was cancelled before ever making it to release.
I too have yet to adjust to the years we lost during the pandemic, but Dota closed beta started 14 years ago. A decade ago it had been released for a year following its much-memed three year beta. Time flies eh?
I’m exactly like you though, so I’m happy to find a kindred spirit. Played a shit ton of Dota 1, went onto playing Dota 2 starting from closed beta up to about 2017. I love the game, but I hated playing it - it mostly made me miserable. Very happy to have quit, but still watch TI every year, along with a couple other major tournaments perhaps. I think it’s great fun to watch.
I agree that MOBA macro and gamesense are very important, but they are also easier to pick up than movement and aim, so I find after the initial week or two of an adjustment period it’s mostly the FPS gods who dominate. I know I am primarily held back by my aim at the moment, for example.