Hey everyone! wow, its been a while, huh? The last several years have been bonkers, but amid all the chaos, weve noticed a rise in DEADBOLT content, whether it be retrospectives, artworks, quality maps, more mentions of the game throughout Hopoo-related spaces, and everything in-between. Figured its time to jump on the belated bandwagon, and see what these years have had to offer. Dont be mistaken, though, this is purely a community highlight, there arent any plans or teasers for future DEADBOLT content from Hopoo Games themselves. Yet.
Keep that counter going, yall.

VIDEOS

There's been plenty of videos on DEADBOLT to keep the community going, from analyses to retrospectives and more!

Story

Among the most influential videos in the community is the extremely high-quality lore recap from Squatch Gaming. Paired with excellent narration, it retells the story of DEADBOLT in minute detail, making even the most savvy nerds like us a bit jealous: [previewyoutube=j3SkqMzmWEg;full][/previewyoutube]

Retrospectives

DEADBOLT is seemingly old enough to get retrospectives, as these standout videos showcase. One of these we especially appreciate, analysing the gameplay and the themes of the narrative, breaking the game down like a modern piece of art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEB2fkDxqnw But hey, there's nothing wrong with a light-hearted tone either. Sometimes all that you need is a handful of memes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7uxOTX3mzA

Honourable Mentions

It's well-known that Chris' amazing music is responsible for the game's reputation. Though we haven't had any fan made original tracks (that we know of!), there exists at least one vocal cover that grabbed people's attention: [previewyoutube=1B34xHe0HTY;full][/previewyoutube] And hey, we wouldnt be a niche little community without at least one fan film. A pretty nifty live-action one, at that: https://youtu.be/EExPLWRtriU Heck, you know what, let me plug my own stuff too. Want to see some inhumanly fast gameplay? Quite literally, in fact, for this is a Tool Assisted Speedrun, completing the game in an impressive 19 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-MUQboGV-w

ARTWORKS

If your eyes hunger for something a bit more static, theres plenty of that too. By far one of the most significant surges in the art sphere was thanks to the Bloodrain contest, hosted on the Risk of Rain 2 Discord server. The prompt was "a Halloween poster", and allowed anything Hopoo-related, including DEADBOLT. Heres just some of the winning artworks: by Sigma ( Incorporeal #9197 ):
by pac1fying: tumblr twitter
by RonaBtheFifth#9684:
Theres also been a lot of other fan made art posted over the years on social media such as Tumblr and Reddit (r/deadbolt), as well as the #creative-db channel in our community Discord server (we also encourage you to check out the #creative-archive channel to see more like this!): by SupremePineapple:
by YoinkedByTheZoink:
by brainheadbot/Toni Mijatovi:
by touyaloid:

by lampthesadone:

And as a special highlight, here's a wonderful Reaper-ified Chris Christodoulou drawn by Bluerogue. She is the designer/illustrator for the CHASEVGM magazine about videogame music, where this artwork was featured. Here's a link to the magazine, feel free to give it a read! Page 14 features the handsome Chris, while page 15 features a great writeup on the Chris/Hopoo discography from RoR1 all the way to Survivors of The Void. Really though, we encourage you to read the whole thing, it's a real love letter to the medium.
And heck, we might as well count some stuff related to modding. Classic_Cheese18s contribution to the scene with his sprite work is particularly noteworthy, even if its not implemented into any existing mods just yet.

CUSTOM MAPS

But what about the videogame itself? I hear you ask. If speedruns and other self-imposed challenges dont take your fancy, people over on the Workshop to this day are making quality custom maps and even entire campaigns to keep the game replayable. Lets have a look at those released since the last Map Highlight. A worthwhile mention all of the screenshots that you're about to see were taken with DEADBOLT Community Patch (DCP). Though it's not actively maintained at the moment, it's a must-have mod for any fan of the game, boasting QoL improvements and fixes, extra weapons, and features like hiding the HUD. You can read our detailed overview of DCP here.

Operations

It would only be fair if we covered officepunks Operations here, since we covered the first in the series back in 2020. The campaign presents us with a long series of difficult levels in each chapter, challenging the players wits, knowledge of the game, and, at times, patience. There are a lot of stages in each level, and Id wager each will take about an hour of playtime. Its worth it, though.

Operation Cocaine Carnage

Cocaine Carnage might genuinely be one of the best sets of levels Ive ever played, despite its limiting nature. Armed with only a Silenced 9mm Pistol, Reaper must sneak his way through the docks that are way too crowded to tackle head-on. This is a sneaking mission, and Cocaine Carnage further facilitates this by utilising some of the games unused assets. Smoke detectors will sound an alarm if you exit out of a vent within their vicinity unless shot, and closets allow the player to hide from patrolling enemies. Keep a lookout for patrol patterns, blind spots, and those moments where someones head is turned.

Operation Branching Bridleway

If the stealth-only nature of the previous level was too much for you, Branching Bridleway is a much more traditional DEADBOLT map, as a level more focused on shooting. Still, theres plenty of interesting gameplay scenarios to go through.
Depending on which route you take throughout the level, the challenges that youll face change drastically. Left side will be a treat for those more predisposed to action. Relatively tight time limits on ash totems? Check. Huge levels with plenty of vents and possible routes? Check. A Sawn-Off only stage with nothing but Bouncers? Yeah, sure, why not. If you want a real challenge, though, the rightmost route has rundown zombie apartments, hordes of Patriarchs, and gruelling traps from the cunning Timur. I mean, just look at this:

Operation Refracted Reflection

Refracted Reflection puts a lot of effort into its aesthetics, and it absolutely pays off. Described as an alternative look at the final level of DEADBOLT, it is precisely that, and more. As were hunting down Ibzan, we close in on his location and get closer to the Portal.
huh, but if I interact with the portal, wont I
Oh.
OH. and you know what, Im not gonna spoil it any further. Find out more yourself! But rest assured, this is a great conclusion to a quality campaign.

Tahazzars maps

Tahazzar is a long-standing mapmaker, renowned for his unusual takes on gameplay scenarios and gameplay design, often going beyond the level editors limits. What youll find is a mix of puzzle and gameplay-centric levels, requiring the player to carefully think about their strategy. Although the rate of released levels has slowed down, theres still plenty that Tahazzar made in the recent years. Heres some of our particular recommendations (bonus points if you tackle them with just the .32 Revolver):

The Other Night

Contained within a single screen, this small level challenges the player to take out a club full of vampires with a limited arsenal. The rooms are full of enemies, the claustrophobic layout doesnt allow for much leniency when lining up shots, and the ammo is really scarce if youre only equipped with the standard revolver. Nevertheless, its a solid level overall, and very much manageable after a bit of trial and error.

Eve of New Light

Eve of New Light is more skewed towards the puzzle side of things. Youll need to take advantage of the cover of darkness to carefully navigate the level, avoiding enemies and sniper fire all the while.

Heavy-Underhanded

Do you like sledgehammers? Youd better, for this is a sledgehammer-only level. A lot of careful positioning, timing, and bravely running away is required to make the slow sledgehammer swings really pay off. What, youre expecting more? Get sledgin, Reaper.

The Hangout

The Hangout is frustratingly difficult, but the gimmick is too good to pass up. Far from the first of its kind, its the most recent example of a completely upside-down level. The threat of being shot or seen from an unexpected angle is higher than ever, and the positioning is likely to mess with your muscle memory. Just remember to aim for the head.

Down-Low

Last on our list, weve got Down-Low. See that ladder? You can climb it. In fact, you have to. Just dont get shot along the way. Solve various vent-based puzzles, explore hidden routes, pick up whatever weaponry you can find, and most importantly, dont give your life for the honour of reaching the top of this level.

Flatline

Those of you whove been around here for long may recognise both RPD_Survivor himself, and his campaign, Flatline. Some of the maps from the collection even made their way into MOTW/Map Highlight posts every now and then. Six years in the making, RPD is still diligently working away at it, especially with a recent spree of quality of life updates across all maps. Now, this post would be twice the length if we went into all the details on the changes or gave each individual level the coverage it deserves, so just take our word for it: it's a quality campaign, for those seeking a challenge, and especially for those seeking an involved storyline. In fact, it's part of the same continuity as Nintee's Last Stand series, which we covered around 2019. While Last Stand focuses on the same Reaper as in the campaign, Flatline takes place long after with a completely new one. That's right - this was secretly a recommendation for both collections all along! We're efficient like that.
The screenshots that you're looking at right now are from the latest entry in the series, "Two Sides of the Same Coin". Similarly to Operation Branching Bridleway, this map is split into two routes, each with its own (mostly stealth-centric) challenges.
Lastly, wed like to highlight the maps of a couple newcomers to the community.

The Underdogs

First up is The Underdogs by born handsome instead of rich (a sentiment I, of course, can fully relate to), a short 4-level campaign that stands out with its tight level layouts and challenging gameplay scenarios. Theres plenty of stealth and action to go around, and the moderate length prevents the whole experience from dragging out for too long.

Rise, Fall and Downtrodden

And you know what, were even going to cheat a little. Released just last month is Rise, Fall and Downtrodden by zgsanmts (or, well, thats what they go by on Discord). While fairly simplistic and light on the story, the mapper shows potential with what they can achieve with the level editor. Much like all the aforementioned maps, its a fairly well-designed set of challenges thatll test your skill and prowess both in stealth and in loud.
And thats as much as we can fit before this post gets ridiculously long. Even though a lot of time has passed since the release, its evident that a lot of people are still really passionate about this niche little videogame, and they deserve the spotlight. Of course, we couldnt possibly encompass everything. There must be plenty of stuff weve missed or neglected to mention. Search for/post about deadbolt on social media, subscribe to random custom maps on the Workshop, and see what gold you can uncover. Feel free to shill something youve made, in the comment section here or on our aforementioned Discord server the centralised place for any fan of the game. Were very much encouraging you to shill your works. Thanks for reading this blog post up until the end, and sharing the same enthusiasm for the game as us. Hope to see you again someday! deadbolt 2 when?

[ 2023-02-15 20:29:20 CET ] [ Original post ]