Deadlock's six new characters are an absolute delight

I’m very bad at Deadlock, but I remain engaged with the game for a few reasons, chief among them the primo character design. It’s a little weird to say that about an early access title where there are still obvious placeholder assets and characters like Sinclair, Yamato, and Vyper who are half-baked, but there are some absolutely killer designs on the roster. Rem is a little catbird sleep spectre with a big pillow, Venator is a battle priest strapped to the teeth with lethal weaponry, and there are six new characters in the new City Never Sleeps update.

Much like the prior major update, City Never Sleeps adds six new heroes, and players vote on the order they’re introduced to the game. Just looking at these characters makes me happy. Am I going to be good at playing any of them? No, probably not, but they put a smile on my face. There’s also a whole host of new in-game banter lines, and if you ask me, Deadlock has some of the best bants in the biz. The map also got a visual overhaul, and New York is looking sharp.

The new heroes are:

Nurse Harrow, a prim nurse with a needle and a demonic bag

Rat King, a giant rat sovereign emerging from the sewers

Solomon, an older gentleman and a chess-themed strategist

Deadman Danny, a daredevil corpse with a jetpack strapped to his back

Baba, a witch on a park bench with pigeon companions

Violet, a paint-splattered visionary

All of these characters are cool and interesting to me, but I think Nurse Harrow and Baba top my personal list. It’s so rare to see old lady characters in games who are actually, you know, old ladies. Seeing Baba Yaga re-interpreted as a tough old broad in New York feeding the pigeons is just a chef’s kiss moment for me. As for Nurse Harrow, I have to admit I’m very curious to see what’s going on with that bag of hers, because I’m pretty sure most nurses’ accessories don’t have teeth.

The voting is live in Deadlock, with the first duo of heroes being released today. Deadlock is still a very early access title, but it’s remained very popular while Valve continues to tweak the game and experiment behind the scenes. My gaming schedule is packed, but I’m going to have to find some time to get back into it. I may be absolutely terrible at this game, but I’ll happily suffer having my ass beat up and down the streets of New York if it means I get to admire some cool work by talented artists.