IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED, DIE, DIE AGAIN

Deathloop (PlayStation 5, PC, £59.99)

Verdict: Bond meets Groundhog Day ★★★★★

DEATHLOOP begins, appropriately, with a death. Yours.

A woman called Julianna plunges a knife into you twice, then you’re done.

Except you’re not. Your character, Colt, wakes up on a beach with a case of amnesia — but alive. It’s the start of another day, the same one Colt just lived through. So Deathloop is one of those games where death brings you back to the beginning and you’ve got to try again.

It’s Groundhog Day with guns. Or is it James Bond with superpowers?

The island on which Colt finds himself — with a mission to kill eight enigmatic ‘Visionaries’ to end the time loop — feels like places from other games. But Deathloop, developed by Arkane, is so stylishly put together that it surpasses some of its influences.

There is no correct way of playing. The choices are yours — but if you choose violence, the game is a pretty bloody experience.

But that was clear from the start, wasn’t it? When Julianna stabbed you. Like her, let’s get to the point: Deathloop is an all-time classic.