Although it’s only been out for a handful of days,Deathloopis already shaping up to beone of the PlayStation 5’s best games. It’s been heavily marketed alongside the new console ever since the PS5 was revealed and, based on its excellent reception, it seems to have been for good reason. It’s a little odd that one of the best PS5-exclusive games is technically a Microsoft property as the company bought Arkane Studios late last year, but Microsoft seems to be making it clear that the second the game is available to be published on Xbox platforms, it presumably will be.
While that statement is all well and good for Xbox owners pining to playDeathloop, some are worried that the game might not be the best candidate for a cross-platform release. When the PS5’s DualSense controller was initially revealed,Deathloopcame up quite frequently as making use of the controller’s new, unique features — features not present on the new Xbox Series X/S controllers. Now that the game is actually out, it seems likeDeathloopis beginning to put these fears to rest based on how it uses the new DualSense features.
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The Possibility of a DualSense-like Xbox Controller
Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, has been quick to give praise to video game hardware outside of the Xbox brand. He’s recently praised the newly announced Steam Deck as well as expressed his fondness for the Nintendo Switch. Perhaps most notable, however, has been hispraises for the DualSense controllerand the features that it’s brought to the games industry. As Microsoft is in direct competition with Sony, it’s nice to see that the head of the Xbox brand is willing to give credit where credit is due for its competition.
Spencer’s praise for the controller might have other implications, however, as Xbox has sent out surveys to console owners following the release of the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S, askingif players would be interested in DualSense-like features coming to Xbox controllers. While Spencer has made it clear that nothing’s coming soon, he also implied that there’s a strong possibility that an Xbox controller revamp is coming at some point down the road. If it were to have features comparable to those in the DualSense, it would allow cross-platform games likeDeathloopto make the transition between consoles much smoother.
Because ofDeathloop’s inevitable arrival on Xbox platforms, it’s been speculated that the game’s release might time up withthe release of the rumored updated Xbox controller. BeforeDeathloopcame out, the game’s marketing had made it seem like it would be relying heavily on the new features of the DualSense, potentially prolonging a cross-platform release. Luckily, now that PS5 owners are able to feel what the game is like using the DualSense, it’s clear that a version of the game could absolutely work on the current Xbox Series X and S controller.
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Deathloop’s Use of the DualSense on PS5
In general, whileDeathloopuses a lot ofthe DualSense’s newest features, they aren’t integral to the game’s controls. It’s clear that a lot of the game’s interactivity was designed with the DualSense in mind. Most things that happen in-game result in one new feature or another flexing its arms, but they aren’t strictly necessary for the game to function as intended.
For example, the resistance that players feel when firing a weapon is interesting and immersive as each gun literally feels different to use, the trigger resistance doesn’t actually change anything about the game on a fundamental level, so it’s certainly possible on an Xbox controller. This is starkly contrasted with other PS5-exclusive games likeRatchet and Clank: Rift ApartandReturnal, which use some of the DualSense’s functionality in ways that are essential to how the games are played.
Feeling each ofColt or Julianna’s footsteps as they creep around Blackreef through the DualSense’s new rumble technologyis certainly immersive and not strictly possible with Xbox’s current controller model. That said, Xbox could certainly make do with what it’s got right now for many ofDeathloop’s most immersive controller features. The only things that would be entirely missing from the game’s Xbox port would be the trigger resistance, and any of the sounds that come out of the DualSense’s improved speakers.
The speakers frequently sound off when Colt and Julianna talk to one another on their radios, but that feature is easily switchable to other audio sources. The PS5 version ofDeathloopeven offers that as an option if players would prefer the conversation to be had through a different audio source, so the game’s release on Xbox seems entirely possible without any major hardware changes.
Deathloop’s Xbox Port
Based on everything above, it’s pretty clear thatwhenDeathloopmakes its way to Xbox consoles, there won’t need to be any drastic hardware changes just to accommodate the game. That said, it certainly could make use of a new controller if that were to line up with the game’s re-release. It’s likely that if a new controller were to come in the next year or so, it wouldn’t just be using the features that the DualSense introduced. Instead, it would likely try to be the next controller pushing the industry forward.Deathloopcould be the first game to make use of any new features Xbox has up its sleeves, making it something of a test case for both Microsoft and Sony.
As it stands, with the current hardware available,Deathloopwill be able to work just fine on the Xbox Series X and S, but it would likely be missing a handful of immersive features. As it’s already become a popular title,Deathloop’s arrival on Xbox consoles will likely not go unsung, so it seems like Xbox would want to change things up for the final release to ensure that it isn’t just a watered-down version of the PS5 release. It’s unclear how the company might attempt to do that, but it seems like the logical step so to make both the game and the hardware it’s running on look their best.
Deathloopis available on PC and PS5.
