Deadlock has guns, but that doesn't make it a shooter

Deadlock as a Steam page, tens of thousands are playing its closed alpha, and even more are watching streamers play it on Twitch. Valve's next competitive game is finally in the public eye, but beyond the general sentiment that it's fun, the community hasn't fully nailed down what Deadlock is or even who it's for.

I've seen every kind of Deadlock take at this point—that it's basically just Dota 2 in third-person, that it's eating the lunches of Smite and Predecessor, or that it's Valve's big play at a hero shooter. It's that last claim that got my attention. Using "shooter" and "Valve" the same sentence is a sort of PC gaming activation phrase that inspires haggard FPS veterans to emerge from their forgotten server browsers, following an ember of hope that the legendary studio that nurtured multiple successful multiplayer FPSes in the mid-aughts is finally coloring with a full box of crayons again. That's what I hoped, at least.

Sorry if I'm the one breaking the news for you: Deadlock is a game where you shoot guns, but it isn't really a shooter.

In some ways, Deadlock is an anti-shooter. In Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, or even more MOBA-adjacent hero shooters like Overwatch, the most important tool in your arsenal is the gun in your hand. Positioning, timing, and game sense go a long way, but it's aim skill that does most of the talking. That hasn't been my experience in Deadlock so far. Your hero's primary weapon, be it a sniper rifle, scattergun, or two fingers making a "gun" gesture, deal so little damage that they're kind of pathetic. You can throw a whole magazine at an enemy right in front of you and maybe whittle down half of their health (more if you get lots of headshots), but back up just a few meters and you're penalized by Deadlock's aggressive damage fall-off. It's as if Valve has gone out of its way to ensure you can't play Deadlock like a traditional shooter.

I've spent a lot of my Deadlock time so far wondering if it's even worth shooting at a guy, which isn't the best feeling in a supposed shooter. When I meet my lane rivals at the beginning of a match and start trading shots, it doesn't feel like we're in a gunfight. It's more like we're just annoyingly tossing rocks at each other, daring the other one to cross the invisible threshold where you're too far forward to safely run away to a Patron for healing.

Deadlock's guns being underpowered isn't some oversight by Valve, obviously. Guns aren't meant to be the stars of the show—that's what abilities and ultimates are for. Abilities are unlocked one-by-one by leveling up and players build on them throughout the match by purchasing items from the shops at spawn points. In a very Dota 2 fashion, fights in Deadlock tend to gravitate around abilities and how well you can time them to initiate a teamfight, respond to a flank, or capitalize on enemies caught out of position. A lot of abilities have to be aimed—a notch in the "shooter" column—but if you're activating your big move at the right time, it's not hard to hit your mark in the same way you line up headshots in Counter-Strike. Players have big hitboxes and most heroes aren't very fast, though you do have to watch out for enemies dodging out of the way.

To describe how Deadlock plays is to describe how any MOBA plays, which is why it's been confusing to see people talk about Deadlock like it's an undiscovered species. In the same way that I'd never describe Dota 2 as a melee action game to a friend, I wouldn't call Deadlock a shooter, either. Guns are just Valve's chosen medium for expressing essentially the same skills as a Dota 2 or League of Legends.

I don't mean to underplay the value in that. It's been interesting to watch streamers known for competitive FPSes take an interest in a new MOBA. You don't see that every day. Maybe what's making the difference is that Deadlock has just enough shooter in it to cast a wide net—the familiarity of its Fortnite-like controls and the opportunities to nail skill shots in a 3D space. There are other third-person MOBAs, but none with Deadlock's verticality and freedom of movement. But I do push back on the idea that Deadlock is going to be so universally appealing that it sucks up all the players from full-body, twitchy, reflexive shooters like Overwatch, Apex Legends, or even Team Fortress 2. They're playing to different crowds.

Deadlock's shooting isn't going to suddenly make you like MOBAs if you hate everything else about them, but it will be the key to unlocking MOBAs for a huge chunk of people who love a variety of competitive games but have never wrapped their heads around isometric cameras and click-to-move. (Who can blame them? Clicking to move sucks.)

I'm happy for those people. I am not one of those people. When I open Deadlock's item shop, I don't see the excitement of hundreds of build combinations, I get anxious sweats. It's personally disappointing that Valve's newest shooter isn't really a shooter, but I'm glad we're getting it out in the open when Deadlock is still early in development. Guess I'll retreat back to my FPS hole and reemerge the next time a Half-Life 3 rumor appears.