DEADBOLT is an atmospheric fast-paced shooting action game with stealth elements.
The kind where you evaluate your surroundings, come up with tactics for beating the level, try to execute it, fail miserably and try again. Along the way you change your approach until you find something that works, and it's cool that there is more than one solution for beating each level - you can kill everything that moves (if you have enough bullets), you can break through (if you have the speed and the skill), or you can silently sneak to your destination.
Usually, it's the combination of the three, and you'll have to carefully manage which weapon you should use, which enemy you'll kill with it and when - all in a split of a second. It plays a lot like Hotline Miami, actually. So if you like Hotline, you'll like the DEADBOLT.

DEADBOLT has a rather peculiar setting. The location it takes place in is literally called "this Place". It knows no sunshine and its inhabbitants know no warmth, they only ever feel cold. And they surely don't like it, as one of your first assignments in the game is to investigate a new drug bursting on the streets, "The Ash", which allows its users to feel warm and alive. You play as "The Reaper" - a trench-coated hired gun with an empty skull. Your current employer is "The Fire", in much more literal sense than you would think: to communicate, the protagonist actually listens to fire, by lighting a fireplace in his room. You're not the only employee of "The Fire", they have a whole network of agents called "The Candles", black antropomorphic chandeliers. They will provide you with information and assist you in other ways too. The Fire pays for your work with Souls, and you give your Souls to Charon to buy new equipment.

Speaking of equipment, this game has quite a variety of it. You can buy most items, but some of them you can only find within the levels themselves. The weapons have subtle differences: at first they all seem similar, but soon you'll find out that one weapon is super accurate, the other is super silent, third is super strong, fourth has huge clip size - and it all matters for the gameplay. Your arsenal isn't limited to guns only, either — there are other varieties, like a scythe, stun grenades, etc.

To help you to play through the level in the manner you want, this game also has various features, like:

- The ability to turn light on / off in rooms and break lightbulbs;
- Luring enemies in with a sound, like knocking on the door, enabling the microwave, etc;
- Using furniture as cover in a gunfight;
- The ability to transform into smoke and travel through air vents;

All these features can be used whichever style you want to play, giving the gameplay just enough variety.

Visual style and sound design fit together rather well and create a solid impression of the world they depict. As carnage is always an option in DEADBOLT, developers have tried to make particle effects, like explosions, blood splats and body physics as appealing to the eye as possible. There are four factions in the game, and each of them has distinct visual and sound style.

The weapon sounds are right on the spot, and the soundtrack is also cool, with some compositions you'll probably want to listen to even outside of the game.

The game has 27 levels in total, with an unlockable hard mode for additional challenges after the first playthrough. It also has Steam Workshop integration, so you can always get new maps made by other players.

Overall, DEADBOLT is an action game with good mix of stealth, combat and rapid decision-making. According to SteamSpy, at the time of this review it has sold around 32k copies, and it definetly deserves more. Give it a try if you have an insatiable craving for high-paced action games.

P.S. For more awesome hidden gems, follow the steam CRIMINALLY Low Sales curator.

DEADBOLT is an atmospheric fast-paced shooting action game with stealth elements. The kind where you evaluate your surroundings, come up with tactics for beating the level, try to execute it, fail miserably and try again. Along the way you change your approach until you find something that works, and it's cool that there is more than one solution for beating each level - you can kill everything that moves (if you have enough bullets), you can break through (if you have the speed and the skill), or you can silently sneak to your destination. Usually, it's the combination of the three, and you'll have to carefully manage which weapon you should use, which enemy you'll kill with it and when - all in a split of a second. It plays a lot like Hotline Miami, actually. So if you like Hotline, you'll like the DEADBOLT. DEADBOLT has a rather peculiar setting. The location it takes place in is literally called "this Place". It knows no sunshine and its inhabbitants know no warmth, they only ever feel cold. And they surely don't like it, as one of your first assignments in the game is to investigate a new drug bursting on the streets, "The Ash", which allows its users to feel warm and alive. You play as "The Reaper" - a trench-coated hired gun with an empty skull. Your current employer is "The Fire", in much more literal sense than you would think: to communicate, the protagonist actually listens to fire, by lighting a fireplace in his room. You're not the only employee of "The Fire", they have a whole network of agents called "The Candles", black antropomorphic chandeliers. They will provide you with information and assist you in other ways too. The Fire pays for your work with Souls, and you give your Souls to Charon to buy new equipment. Speaking of equipment, this game has quite a variety of it. You can buy most items, but some of them you can only find within the levels themselves. The weapons have subtle differences: at first they all seem similar, but soon you'll find out that one weapon is super accurate, the other is super silent, third is super strong, fourth has huge clip size - and it all matters for the gameplay. Your arsenal isn't limited to guns only, either — there are other varieties, like a scythe, stun grenades, etc. To help you to play through the level in the manner you want, this game also has various features, like: - The ability to turn light on / off in rooms and break lightbulbs; - Luring enemies in with a sound, like knocking on the door, enabling the microwave, etc; - Using furniture as cover in a gunfight; - The ability to transform into smoke and travel through air vents; All these features can be used whichever style you want to play, giving the gameplay just enough variety. Visual style and sound design fit together rather well and create a solid impression of the world they depict. As carnage is always an option in DEADBOLT, developers have tried to make particle effects, like explosions, blood splats and body physics as appealing to the eye as possible. There are four factions in the game, and each of them has distinct visual and sound style. The weapon sounds are right on the spot, and the soundtrack is also cool, with some compositions you'll probably want to listen to even outside of the game. The game has 27 levels in total, with an unlockable hard mode for additional challenges after the first playthrough. It also has Steam Workshop integration, so you can always get new maps made by other players. Overall, DEADBOLT is an action game with good mix of stealth, combat and rapid decision-making. According to SteamSpy, at the time of this review it has sold around 32k copies, and it definetly deserves more. Give it a try if you have an insatiable craving for high-paced action games. P.S. For more awesome hidden gems, follow the steam [url=http://steamproxy.net/steamstore/curator/10722089/]CRIMINALLY Low Sales[/url] curator.