Arkane Studios Has Moved Beyond The Need For Linear Level Design

thegamer.com:

Arkane Studios' campaign director Dana Nightingale said in a recent interview that it will likely never make another game driven by linear level design. This means older games like Dishonored that often split their campaigns apart with distinct locations and set pieces are being left behind, with more experimental titles such as Deathloop and Redfall set to define the path moving forward.

Some have reacted to this statement with disappointment, perhaps hoping that the studio renowned for fantastic world building would remain focused on creating environments we can lose ourselves in for hours on end, and move on at our own pace instead of allowing multiplayer mechanics or emergent open world gameplay dictate proceedings. I understand this trepidation, but it also seems to misunderstand that Arkane’s design ethos has never once faltered even as it moves onto new pastures under the ownership of Microsoft.

Related: Live A Live Review - A Classic JRPG That Belongs In The Modern Era

Arkane has been evolving ever since the release of Dishonored, with Deathloop and Redfall acting as a natural evolution of its core values that never once abandon what makes its games so damn special. Sure, I’d still love to see the studio make untethered immersive sims like Prey that cast us as lonely protagonists going up against the world with unparalleled freedom to explore, but to see that formula translated into new genres with so many refreshing ideas and mechanics is equally exciting, even if it’s not for everyone.

Let’s take Deathloop, for example. This time loop shooter tasks the player with eliminating a huge number of targets in one cohesive run, with two mistakes putting you right back at the beginning. But your progress is never for