World Makers released Deceit 2, the sequel to the horror survival social deduction game Deceit.
Deceit 2 was developed and published by World Makers, a UK-based independent development studio. They had previously published the first Deceit game in 2017. Deceit 2 is a deception-based online multiplayer survival horror where you and a group of people are stuck inside an asylum and must do all you can in order to escape.
Deception-based Multiplayer or Social deduction games have been around since the early 2000s with the release of Space Station 13 in 2003. Some of the most popular social deduction games today are Town of Salem, initially released in 2014, and Among Us, which was released in 2018.
The first game had a maximum of 6 players in a lobby, with each player making use of one of 6 unique characters in the game. With the release of Deceit 2, another three playable characters are added to the roster, allowing for lobbies to hold up to 9 players. Added to the roster are Priya, Jak and Beck.
Much like the first Deceit, the story and reason for being stuck where you aren’t mentioned while you are going through matches, but are instead revealed by the backstories of the characters and the information hidden in “The Booke O’ Between,” which gives you a recap on the tutorials and on the uses on the many different items.
Deceit 2 follows the first game with many of the same or similar mechanics with minor updates. Some of the most noticeable changes come from how Innocents unlock the escape route and how the Terrors gain enough strength to enter the In-between. But these two aren’t the only roles you can access in the game.
There is a third role for players to play: The Guardian. The guardian roles allow players to save another’s life in the in-between. Unfortunately, players cannot use the guardians while in the in-between, so you will have to make sure you activate before the in-between comes into reality. The goal of the Innocents and Guardians is to either eliminate all Terrors or get the key for the escape door.
In order to have access to the key, you must complete a myriad of tasks. You must free the lost souls trapped in the many tasks scattered around the map. The Lost Souls power the ritual that brings the in-between to reality. Freeing them gives you more slots for items and lets you get closer to unlocking the key to escape. Once the souls are released, they will fly off towards the nearest Peddler. The Peddler gives you access to many items, including the key.
While you only have access to a limited number of items at the beginning of Deceit 2, you will be able to buy more items to make use of in matches with a specific currency that you earn from matches. The currency you earn from matches is called Favour, and you can also buy a premium currency called Shillings that can be used to buy cosmetics.
If you don’t have enough for an item or terror mutation, then you can try your luck at the booth to get a random item you have yet to unlock. This is a small gamble as you won’t be sure if the item that is unlocked would help you when you are Innocent, or if it would be a much better gamble when playing a Terror.
Terror Mutations are available for purchase with Favour. The mutation all Terrors start off with is Turbulence, which randomly teleports players all over the map. You can also get mutations such as Clarity, which allows you to enable all the Rift Eyes on the map and drain player sanity, making them easier to catch, or Disruption, which allows you to remotely destroy the generator.
Rift Eyes slowly appear over the map once the world has been plunged into the in-between. As an Innocent, it will cause a noise that will alert the Terrors to where you are. If you are unable to get away from them, then unfortunately, your sanity will drain, and you will become more vulnerable to the in-between and the Terrors that hide behind human facades.
As a Terror, you will grow stronger once the in-between becomes reality. Able to transform into your true form, you can easily hunt down the Innocent scattered around the map. It is, unfortunately, easy to get caught by the other players if you aren’t careful.
Much like the first game, there is an easy way to tell how the Terrors are moving around on the map. The first game had Bloodbags, which were a type of floor loot that helped the terrors get stronger. In Deceit 2, terrors only needed to destroy weak points located around the map. The more that is destroyed, the quicker the In-Between appears.
While there is only one map available at the moment, there is hope that there are more in the works for players to learn. The current map, the Millhaven Asylum, is a decently large map to explore, although when running from terrors, it can become easy to lose yourself in the many rooms and halls of the asylum. While there is only one map to fully explore, it doesn’t make it boring playing match after match for hours as you slowly learn your way around it.
The graphics have had a complete overhaul, and it works well in creating a horrific atmosphere for players to explore as they try to escape or eliminate all the others. The animations are smooth as you move around and interact with many things within the asylum, such as the radios and wire boxes, in order to get doors unlocked and elevators working.
The Sound Engineering is well done and creates an incredibly immersive atmosphere that is easily able to draw players in. While there is a soundtrack, it isn’t as noticeable when you are being chased or doing the chasing through the halls of the asylum. Much like Dead by Daylight, Deceit 2 allows you to hear a heartbeat as the Terror in their true form comes closer. The Voice Acting is well done and is done with the same Voice Actors from the first game, who bring their characters to life.
The game has both in-game chat and a quick response. The In-game proximity chat is clear and depends on the quality of your mic for it to be decent. The Quick responses or quick pings allow for easier communication if you don’t have a mic and don’t wish to use Text chat while in a match.
While the game can be easy to figure out for returning players, it would’ve been nice to see a more hands-on tutorial for newcomers to figure out what they need to do as both a Terror, an Innocent, and a Guardian. Deceit 2 does have an introductory video that explains the main objective of the game, which is to escape.
Overall, Deceit 2, despite having one or two flaws, is a great Deception-based multiplayer to play with friends or just to join a random lobby. It embodies the horror-survival aspect, and it will be great to see if the Terrors that were available in the first game make their way to the sequel.
