But maybe thats the point

The mystery surroundingDeadlock, Valves work-in-progress MOBA shooter, has largely evaporated.

Still, Brendy is but one man.

What if we had butfourmen, working in tandem to crush lanes and flatten Patrons just as Gabe intended?

Two Deadlock teams square off in the pre-match loading period.

Or, at least, if anyone would keep playing.

Maybe Im just not gelling with my preferred heroes as well as I think?

Ed:I very much echo similar thoughts to you here, James.

From Ivy’s perspective, a Deadlock team performs the initial zipline rollout from their base.

But boy, I don’t know if I’ve got it in me anymore.

Especially not when a big obstacle lies in the UI itself.

Ollie:Cmon, Ed, the UI isntthatbad… Hmm.

A demonstration of Deadlock’s messy AI, with loads of info boxes and tooltips filling the screen.

Actually, maybe it is, and Im just too used to it.

It took me a good long while to train my eye to look there.

Is that something you guys were feeling?

In a Deadlock match, Bebop blasts out a Hyper Beam ultimate at a distant enemy.

That youd just suddenly die without any forewarning?

Which would be fine if I knew why.

Was my hero a bad match-up against whatever hero I was fighting against?

Ivy pushes a Guardian, defended by player-controlled enemies, in Deadlock.

Did I push too far too soon?

Had I fallen behind in the economy/upgrade/shopping curve?

Ollie:Thats roughly how I felt about MOBAs in general when Deadlock came along.

In a Deadlock match, Bebop hooks and pulls in an enemy Wraith.

Full disclosure, Ive played about 120 hours now.

Its got its hooks in me somehow.

Graham:I like that the creeps have candles for heads and the wax melts as you shoot them.

That was a high point.

Ed:Yeah, I must say that the creeps really do it for me, too.

And I do like the pop of the currency balloons that rise from them whenever you finish them off.

Ollie:Yeah, your glee was probablymyhigh point of the whole thing.

But again, Im approaching this from the perspective of someone who already knows and loves Deadlock.

I think another big part of learning to click with the game comes with understanding the maps verticality.

With this combo, the map opens up to a ludicrous degree.

Using the ziplines and the air vents to launch yourself around is also a big deal.

I was once one of those people, but I broke free a long time ago.

I wish everyone who takes the game seriously all the very best.

Ollie:The core of Deadlock feels like a genuinely exciting new direction for the genre.

Maybe its too early to judge.

Its hard to gauge Deadlocks completeness, given its bizarre invite-fuelled pre-alpha playtesting structure.

Still, I think Id definitely be happy with Deadlock being the one MOBA that I take seriously.