Hey everyone!

There’s been a noticeable spike in mapmaking activity lately, with the majority of them being pretty good, which I’m very pleased to see. With this amount of new maps flowing in, it’ll be quite the challenge to pick one to highlight among them all. We’ll cross that bridge next week, though.

Keeping up his winning streak, Tahazzar comes at us with this week’s Map of the Week, “Heads On Prices”.



We start off at the docks with a Silenced 9mm Pistol, and as the limited ammunition and stage title “Silent As A Candle” would suggest, this one’s all about stealth. You need to make your way to the end of the stage, using ammunition as sparingly as possible – there’s many more enemies than you have bullets. Sneaking past them and proceeding to the left will allow us to progress.



The next stage is the main meat of the level – a long apartment complex packed to the brim with zombies. Your main task is to eliminate Shamblers who are carrying keycards, but there’s a catch. The building is filled with dozens of Shambler heads, and only a few of them are actually linked to corresponding bodies. The right heads are indicated by some particular things around them, so keep an eye socket out. There are some spare silenced pistols hanging on the walls, which’ll serve you well to avoid alerting every enemy in the house.

Repaint the apartment bloody red, collect all the keycards, and you’re free to finish the level.



What I liked about this level is something that I see surprisingly rarely for a game like DEADBOLT – an emphasis on stealth. Not as an optional approach, but as the only real way of playing the level effectively, further supported by the dimmed lights and silenced weapons. Also, the fact that this level got away with packing more than three enemies into a single spot while still remaining perfectly playable deserves some praise.

Play it now!

Hey everyone!

We hope you like puzzles, because this week’s Map of the Week is ‘Ghost Recon’ by Tahazzar, a puzzle map about figuring your way through crowds of enemies you can’t even see.



This one goes above and beyond the editor’s limitations and imperfections to bring you a very interesting level concept. Throughout the level are ash statues of vampires, which represent the positions of enemies in an unseen alternate dimension where your counterpart will be avoiding and killing them. If your double dies, you’ll fail the level.

"Any desynchronization with you and your spirit double will have grave consequences", as the description says.




While some parts are very difficult to work your way through, particularly the huge maze-like room at the end of the level, it’s a very unique and interesting concept, and the level’s designed well enough to make it entertaining and lets action take a backseat in favour of figuring the puzzle out.



Overall, a level with very cool design and a near-flawless execution.

Play it now!

Oh, and I'd like to point out that this is indeed a 30th MotW so far. That's a considerable milestone! Thanks for still being in on the ride even after several years since release.

Since we've got a really cool number, I have a reason to plug in our very cool deadbolt-themed semi-official discord server, with cool memes, emotes and other nifty stuff.

Hey everyone!

Last MotW we reviewed a map that reminded us of DEADBOLT’s early days, but this time we’ve decided to actually go back there and review a pair of maps released all the way back in 2016.

In today’s Map of the Week we’re highlighting the “Prologue” series by SwamDono.

This unfortunately unfinished series takes place before the events on DEADBOLT, telling us exactly how our boy the Reaper started working for the Flames in the first place.



In the first map, “Prologue, Part 1: Become the Reaper”, we start off locked in a basement after having been killed by an Incubus. Awoken by the Flames, we are given the chance to get revenge on our killer.

While DEADBOLT isn’t a linear game by nature, it’s pulled off brilliantly here by having a series of small rooms that you can quickly blast through on your path up and down the tall apartment block, which overall keeps the level interesting rather than getting tedious.

Another thing I liked about the level’s design is how you can avoid killing anyone besides your target like a master assassin, if you want to give yourself an extra challenge. Of course, it’s a lot easier to just kill everyone so you won’t be chased halfway across the level as you traverse it.



Get past the enemies, kill your target, pat yourself on the back if you kill him with the shotgun trap. After the Incubus is dead, the Flames will offer us a job. Not having any real alternatives, we comply and make our way to the car, ending the level.



In the second level, “You’re mine now, child.”, we arrive at another apartment complex, consisting of a few buildings worth of undead. They’ve been making moves the Candles can’t keep track of, so it’s our job to deal with them.



This level is pretty linear, much like the first level, though there’s an optional extra path you can take to get your hands on a scythe. This time the level focuses more on width than height, and there’s a lot of nice decoration to admire as you traverse it – there’s more variety in the aesthetics of the buildings, from warehouses to clubs to apartment blocks, as well as having some scaffolding you can descend.



After going through several vents and killing seven targets spread across four buildings, we reach the final target – Roland. He’s patrolling on a dark rooftop, so you shouldn’t have any trouble dealing with him so long as you keep your distance.



After some exposition, you’ll have to backtrack through the level to get back to your car, though thankfully there’s a couple vents that’ll act as shortcuts on your way back down.

Unfortunately, the creator of these maps seems to be long gone (they haven’t been online on steam for quite a while) meaning there won’t be any more maps released for this series in the future.
Despite this, the two levels that were released still provide some excellent examples of good linear design, as well as just being generally fun levels. I’ve had a lot of fun replaying these maps, and I hope you’ll feel just the same.

Play them now! (Part 1) (Part 2)

Hey everyone!

If you were playing DEADBOLT near its launch, you might recall the “HARDCORE” series of maps by Flatgub. These were edited versions of levels from the original campaign – adding a lot of enemies, making little changes to the layout, altering the appearance of the level, all while leaving it recognizable as a spinoff of the original.

Well, it seems ColdBolt decided to carry on the legacy with his latest installment - “Technically Sound” – Structurally Sound turned up to eleven.



Right at the beginning, we’re greeted with an intimidating sight – tons of landmines, several traps, and the level’s bustling with everyone’s favourite enemies, Technicians. There are 16 of them total littered about the level, most of them hiding, so if you alert them you can be sure they’ll lay down a carpet of mines, making them this level’s greatest threat by far.



Luckily, there are several useful weapons in the level, like two Auto-Grenade Launchers, Sledgehammers and several shotguns that can be pilfered from the shotgun traps.

As well as this, the ventilation system has been added to, allowing you to avoid traps and undead alike. Be sure to remember that mines and shotgun traps don’t discriminate, so you can quickly turn the Technicians’ greatest weapons against them.




Play it now!

Hey everyone!

If you have noticed the lack of MotWs for the past few weeks, then fear not, we’re still kickin’ and ready to go after a month-long hiatus.

Granted, MotWs may still be irregular in the future because of a complicated little thing called “real life”, but we’ll see how it goes.

To make up for the lack of content, we’re reviewing a whole series rather than just one map. Of course, Series of the Week doesn’t flow well (nor does Series of the Month), so we’re sticking with MotM. Gotta keep things at least semi-consistent.

So with all that said, today’s Map of the Month goes to “Deadline” by Alex Pine, which currently consists of 5 levels. With nice level design, cool puzzles, hidden secrets and a confusing plot, these levels are sure to give you a blast.

The series takes place in an alternate timeline, diverging after Madam Stela’s death. Ibzan has an alternate plan in case the Meat Portal plot from the main game fails, which the Reaper stumbles upon by chance. Having been discovered, Ibzan diverts all his resources to Plan B, abandoning the plot you see in Deadbolt’s main campaign.

The series starts off strong with the first level, “Into the Abyss”. It’s a complex structure that can itself be a puzzle to move around in. It’s got plenty of variety with room sizes, as well as smaller groups of enemies and a large vent network, allowing you to pick your fights and avoid situations where too many enemies have you in their sights.



There’s a few small environmental puzzles, too, like having to drop down to a vent to reach the inner parts of the complex, or unblocking a vent to reach another area. Plus, it’s got a crane, which I always appreciate in a level.



Overall, it’s a solid level and I would consider it the best in the series so far. If you’re going to play any of the levels in Deadline, make it this one.

The next level is named “Sinner Dinner”. This level’s main feature is obvious from the very start – the restaurant contains a veritable army of Dredged, including an incredible number of Generals ready to revive their comrades. You’re definitely not going to be able to face this horde head-on.



Luckily, you’re readily provided with powerful weapons like Rifles and Headhunters, placed in dangerous spots that’ll only benefit you if you play your cards right. And if you happen to grab a sledgehammer off a Sergeant, you’ll be theoretically unstoppable. This level’s all about dividing them up and picking off the Generals before you deal with anything else.



If you can beat this, then you’re officially better at the game than I am. Good luck.

Next comes “Those Who Have Burned”. This level’s a little shorter than the others, but it works well with what it offers. Once again we’re faced with a massive room full of enemies, but this time you’re hidden up in the rafters, picking them off with some Bolt-Action Rifles.

There’s a couple of Technicians down there, whose mines can be abused to eliminate any groups of enemies standing too close to them.

Oh, and there's also a small platforming section, with a reward for the curious ones.



One exposition dump later, we get to the real meat of the level. Every room is rigged to blow, and you need to find a way to diffuse the situation without getting blown to bits yourself. There are multiple ways to deal with each room, but I’ll leave that up to you. Be sure to set your graphics to Low if your computer lags during this part. It’ll do wonders, trust me.






The fourth level, “Styx and bones”, focuses on stealth over action. You have to eliminate a Dredged outpost in a construction site, but the area is littered with Technicians, who’ll start planting mines if alerted. Luckily, silent weapons like the Tactical SMG or Silenced 9mm Pistols are provided.



There’s an extensive pipe network that allows you to move without notice, but plenty of spotlights and windows mean you’ll have to make each step carefully if you don’t want the Technicians to start rigging the place to blow. Being a construction site, there are a lot of ladders between rooms and onto scaffolding. Plus, there’s a giant crane. Nice.



The latest level in the series, at the time of writing, is “The Devils in the Details”. This entry mostly deals with story exposition, though there is a gameplay segment consisting of a huge warehouse, filled with demons and dim red light.



Though there are a few powerful weapons littered about the building, this level mostly focuses on using dropped Burst Rifles. There are a lot of enemies to deal with, though not as many as in "Sinner Dinner" or the intro to "Those Who Have Burned". As always, a solid vent network provides plenty of opportunity for flanking.

Overall, the levels in this series are all enjoyable, having interesting gameplay dynamics and a cool story to tell. The levels are all top-notch aesthetically – you can really tell just by looking at the environment where "Sinner Dinner" and "Styx and Bones" take place. The collection’s still under development, and we’re eager to see how the series progresses.

Play them now!

The flames roar to life, and the sounds of the gramophone drift across the room... :phono:

Hey everyone!

A few months ago, Chris Christodoulou (the dude who made DEADBOLT’s soundtrack, if you weren’t aware) teased the DEADBOLT OST coming to vinyl and, before its release, pushed out an album containing all the stems to fiddle about with.

Now that the vinyls have finally started being shipped, we feel it’s the perfect time to finally spread the word. Go here to buy the vinyls and soothe your soul next to the fireplace with Christodoulou’s killer tracks.



Alternatively, you can go here to buy the stem album. We’d advise that you read the disclaimer before posting any of your remixes or mashups online, though.



Stay tuned for more updates and MOTWs!

Using the chance, I'd like to remind of our super cool DEADBOLT-themed Discord server, full of keen players ready to chat and help you with anything. Emotes, cool roles and banned memes guaranteed!

Join now!

Hello everyone!

It’s time for another Map of the Week, and this time we’re not highlighting a SockPuppet map! Crazy, I know. Don’t get me wrong, his maps are amazing, but it is really refreshing to have some variety in the map’s creators every once in a while.

This week’s Map of the Week is “Postponed” by Square_Rabbit.

Now, if you’re a godlike gamer with amazing skills such as myself, you may not notice what’s special about this map. It may seem like a fairly standard club-themed map. Interesting visuals and fair but challenging difficulty, if pretty linear, but still a pretty basic map in terms of design, right?





If you die, however, things play out a little… different.





What I liked about this level the most is perhaps the way that cutscenes were used for storytelling. I mean, of course cutscenes are commonly used to convey a story, but here Rabbit uses all of the neat little tricks and workarounds in the editor to the fullest advantage to make the level work. Heck, the entire level is built around a single trick that allows to bypass the restart-on-death mechanic. Still can't figure out how it was done.



It’s also a generally fun level that, despite its linearity and shortness, is fun to play through whilst sledging everyone into oblivion. See if you can escape the nightclub without dying!

Play it now!

Hello everyone, to one of the more irregular digests on this gaming platform.

For your long wait to be paid off, we decided to bring something big - “Controlled Freak” by the ever-so familiar SockPuppet. Once again he delivers a map with fantastic visuals, absurd storytelling, amazing innovations and difficulty cranked up to the max.

The level is a direct continuation of “One Trick Puppet”, and as such, begins with you deciding what kind of events went down in that previous level. This opens up three routes in total, each unique from one another by the difficulty and design, and we’re gonna look at each one.




The main juice is contained in the very first stage, with you having to wipe out the building just to kill your target, for the only weapon that can kill him is unlocked by collecting all keycards. If you ask me, the Scythe might be your best pal on this one.



This route is particularly notable for how Puppet uses the editor to create interesting gameplay (and story) elements. In this particular route, there’s an immortal bartender who dies only after collecting all the keycards, as well as spawning "the only weapon that can kill him". Cool stuff, right?

There's also a very cool cutscene which I’m not gonna spoil. Here’s a tip though.



It also has one of the better designed levels, with the rooms being just the right size, gorgeously decorated and having fair enemy placement.

We also get to witness cool stuff that's disabled (not cut) in the main game, such as a sewered lich arm, which is a really cool (and somewhat overpowered) weapon and a flare which… doesn’t really do anything aside from emiting light.




If you ask me, this one is the hardest of them all: there are huge constructions filled to the brim with all sorts of undead on almost every corner, with you having not much weaponry & ammunition to use (unless, of course, you grab a pair of D+T out of your car).




To our advantage, however, is a large ventilation system, allowing us to effectively flank our enemies and take their guns. Use caution, kill the lights and conserve cool guns for the big guys.

There’s also a flashbang on the third stage that, if used correctly, will give you a room full of dead bodies and shotguns in roughly ten seconds.




This one starts off rather bland - the first stage is rather linear and doesn’t feature any stunning design choices or unique visuals, and the level merely serves as one to tell a story rather than to entertain with gameplay. There are some vents and one trap but that’s about it.



The second stage, however, gets the level back on its feet. This stage is really where the meat of this route is. Multiple entrances, challenging but fair enemies, and an interesting design. A classic deadbolt level. There’s a lot of different ways to tackle this level, so see what best works for you! You’ll contend with backup on your way out, so don’t waste all of your ammo.



After this, the player talks to God in a pretty well made replica of the original safehouse and heads into the docks, where the story is ended on a cliffhanger. Boy, I wonder which route is the canon one?



Overall, I would say that I enjoyed myself playing this level, all three routes had something special and entertaining to them, and I would suggest you play them too. Might get you hooked into the story as well, who knows?

Play it now!

Hey everyone!

So, we’ve skipped an awful lot and we apologise for that. In our defense, we’re just a couple of teens who happen to be passionate enough about the game to receive moderator rights to continue keeping this game active (yep, we’re not hopoo, sorry to disappoint). We’ve still got all the life problems like finals and all that taking most of our time, so we couldn’t bring ourselves to get to work on MotWs. Not during that period of time, at least.

But now we’re back in action, hopefully with no breaks like this in the future.

To make up for it, we decided to pick a series of maps rather than one level.

This week’s… Series of the Week(?) Is “Warehouse” by Olyethan, which consists of 5 levels in total, so strap in ‘cause this is gonna be a long one.

This time, the player’s goal is to shut down an ash warehouse. In order to do so, the player has to infiltrate and scout the area, deal with some obstacles along the way and, of course, burn the warehouse to the ground. Or, at least start a few fires. The chain reaction should finish the job.

Our first objective is to infiltrate the warehouse itself – going straight in won’t do, so the Reaper decides to take the sneaky option, through the sewers. This stage is quite linear and pretty simple, so after reaching the opposite side of the tunnel you can go up an elevator and proceed towards the warehouse.





The second stage gets a little more interesting – we get to snoop around an apartment block, located close by to our primary target. Apparently, the warehouse is protected from both sides by gates set up at the apartment blocks, and a Maiden on the roof holds the only keycard for those gates, so we need to relieve her of that before we can proceed.



Out of things to commend here, I would pick the well-detailed interiors and the piping system’s layout, which opens up a small window for flanking the enemies or simply moving through the level quickly.



Just as we’re about to head for the gates, we’re fired upon by a sniper and forced to retreat in order to deal with them – this is where the third stage comes in.



There’s a nearby construction site with a good sightline on the sniper’s nest. It’s occupied by a large group of zombies, which you and a pair of candle snipers will need to deal with before you can eliminate the sniper. Once again, this level’s decoration is top-notch, with great half-built walls and a convincing construction crane.



With the sniper dealt with, we finally get to the warehouse. In order to shut it down, we have set fire to a few large piles of ash, which should spread to the rest of the drugs stored inside. Fight through a small building and a few doors, set the fires, and get out before it burns down with you still inside.



In the final portion of the level, the Reaper finds his car stolen, which he needs to get back to. I just had to include this part because of this sick-looking set of stairs.



Overall, it’s a great series of levels with incredibly detailed environments and fun gameplay in mind, even if the maps are mostly linear. I’ve had a lot of fun and honestly wanted to include it in a MotW at some point, but never quite got the chance until now.

Play them now!

Also, you may be wondering, “This series was uploaded ages ago, how come it’s showing up on Map of the Week now?”
Well as it turns out, MotW wasn’t just a weekly contest for the best map, but was instead a spotlight on whatever maps Hopoo found interesting, regardless of release date. So, we’ve decided to go back to this older format, starting with the Warehouse series!

This way, we’re less limited with our choices, and you don’t need to worry if your map was overshadowed by Sockpuppet by another map. Now, you’re always in the running for MotW!

See you next week, hopefully!

Hey everyone!

Before I start with this week's MOTW, I would like to say that we officially broke the record - 20 maps released in a single week! That's astonishing!
There were all kinds of maps - short and long, hard and easy, ones that took use of the editor's mechanics and simpler ones where you merely had to kill stuff.

But alas, we can only show one at a time. It was hard to choose only one out of twenty, but here you have it.

This week's Map of the Week is "Out Of Time" by Puddin788.

The main feature of the map only appears for a few seconds at best - and that is abusing how the player entity in a certain state. I'd rather not spoil how it works, but it's pretty staightforward once you start the level.



The level itself is a nightclub infested with skeletons and freshly ashified vampires. With said vampires being dead, the level gives you a kickstart by offering powerful weapons, such as the Combat Shotgun and the 10mm.
Don't get too spoiled, though, for the level isn't getting any easier with those (well, maybe a bit).



After dealing with pesky Sergeants, Technicians and Grunts you reach the top and lockpick a safe. There's also an Old World Rifle in the same room, and trust me, you'll need it.

Once you lockpick the safe, you are greeted with grunts appearing out of thin air and backup consisting of Nightcrawlers and Generals coming straight at you.



Once you deal with those, you're free to go.

And that concludes Out Of Time! Overall, it's a sweet level that focuses on gameplay, mainly with the game's neat unintended mechanic and a lot of strong enemies opposing you. Visually, it is also done fairly well and pleases the eye.

Play it now!

As a side note - the next MOTW will be a bit different, we're doing some minor changes aiming to manage MOTWs like hopoo originally intended.
I won't delve into details, but I'll just say that this new format will be far less limiting.