Deceit 2 is the sequel to the surprise hit that both conquered and scared quite a crowd since its release in 2017. A multiplayer social deduction game with a hefty dose of horror, it messes with the players’ minds as they try to discover who among them are the infected, with hunches and misdirection contributing to the atmosphere of anxiety and distrust. It’s Among Us but not set in space, so everyone will hear you scream over the mic as you try to come up with reasons to uphold your innocence. But you will also scream at some shortcomings such as the lack of focus, or a single map available at the time of launch.

Very Sus

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of the latest examples of how a multiplayer horror game can deliver both the chills and the gameplay. Deceit 2 does lean more to the social deduction aspect instead, sticking to an oppressive atmosphere with the added tension of knowing that two players are plotting against the rest. But how does it all play out when you are in your asylum scrubs and being observed by everyone?

Your initial matches in Deceit 2, which supports a minimum of six and maximum of nine players, may feel a bit overwhelming, despite – or maybe by virtue of – the introductory cinematic that tries to explain the mechanics as you boot up the game for the first time. You can replay this video to clear some lingering doubts, but it’s routine to find yourself amidst a handful of players that already know the game inside out, as you try to learn the better process to win the match, both as an innocent or an infected.

There are various tasks for the two sides to achieve, pretty much in Among Us style. Innocents must find and complete short challenges, such as revealing pairs of cards, achieving checkmate in one move, tuning a radio, cracking open a safe, turning off showers at the same time, giving the right pills to a patient, set the right time on the clock, reassembling a photograph, and more. The infected, on the other hand, have some actions to sabotage the innocent. These tasks range from interesting to bland, giving some purpose to your wandering, with slight variations to each implementation. Besides, these challenges free lost souls that feed the sinister entity known as Peddler.

The Peddler can be described as the go-to in-game shop, regularly offering you diverse gadgets that expand on the gameplay mechanics. The binoculars allow you to find the locations of other players as the best night vision goggles do, the handcuffs can be used to prevent a player from doing some actions, and a mask can be used to disguise yourself as another player. Completing matches rewards you with currency that can be used to unlock new devices and outfits, in a standard progression system that would be the more satisfying if the gameplay loop was more focused.

When the infected fracture the altars, it’s time for the in-between to exert its grasp upon reality, revealing the true form of the hunters. Innocents must flee from the terror creature, and when one is captured and executed, a voting session starts, as the world returns to its temporary normal. Unfortunately, guns are conveniently jammed during these stages, so there’s no gunplay when in theory it made the most sense.

Itchy Trigger Fingers

One of the main concerns is how eager the Peddler is to give every player a gun, right from the very start of each match. Deceit 2 isn’t a shooter and shouldn’t try to be one, but the will to blend genres places a pistol in your hands and lights the spark for chaos and confusion. It’s easy to jump into conclusions gun in hand, nervous shootouts happening frequently, a few shots enough to down a player because someone thought it would be fun, or the argumentation somehow pointed to this or that, despite the often-flawed logic.

Shooting is too tempting for some, social deduction and reasoning be damned; just vote out everyone and hope to win in a system that couldn’t be stranger – shoot a player so that it becomes trapped in this ritualistic circle, then if they get player enough votes, they are banished from the match. That’s right, shooting doesn’t kill anyone, and you can’t even use it against the infected during the in-between stage; guns are but a vehicle for voting on a player.

The other underwhelming aspect is that Deceit 2 comes with only one map, Millhaven Asylum, and no, this isn’t Early Access, but the full launch. Even if it features three floors, the map remains fairly contained and above all without many distinctive areas, being easy to lose yourself in the somewhat labyrinthic areas. More maps are planned, but a single location at launch still feels like the bare minimum for a game that desperately needs content to grab players and keep them coming back for more.

Graphics are average, certainly not something to go nuts about, with character models leaving a lot to be desired, especially when everyone dons the same scrubs for a few matches (even down to the color) before they earn enough currency to unlock an alternate costume. The asylum has a few nice details, with the lighting during the in-between phase being a highlight. However, the game isn’t without its bugs, including players squeezing through cracks on the wall but occasionally doing so by blatantly clipping.

Performance issues also abound, with a beefy computer required to run the game to its full potential, but even more worrying are the frequent disconnect issues while trying to join a game. The loading screen gets us all prepped and excited to start a match, but suddenly we are kicked out to the menu without any information on what just happened.

Social Deduction Identity Crisis

Deceit 2 comes with a potentially capable core, but along the way it forgets that it should be more about the human aspect and dwell less on the urge to put guns on everyone’s hands, letting them grief others and bring whatever hint of intelligent gameplay there is to shambles. Trying to mix two genres that function on very different fundamentals – shooter and social deduction – didn’t yield the best results, birthing a messy concept in dire need of focus.

The low price tag is a good point, but not enough of a saving grace to make us forget about the glaring gameplay and network issues, lifeless characters, and the single map at launch. Deceit 2 feels like an Early Access release turned official launch, a game that tried to reach a larger community, but by doing that forsakes what could have turned it into something special. It’s definitely not one to make you go mad, but surely could have been a lot better with a more focused approach.

Score: 6/10

Pros:

• An atmosphere with some chilling potential
• Some elements of Among Us but with horror-themed gameplay

Cons:

• Only one map at launch
• Tries to mix shooting and social deduction in a flawed, game-breaking way
• All characters look the same and have no personalities
• Frequent disconnect issues and performance troubles

Deceit 2 review code was provided by the publisher. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.