Betray friends and execute people in Deceit 2

We take a gander at this new survival horror / social deduction game

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*Sponsored Piece*

If you’re a fan of social deduction games, from the original Mafia/Werewolf to the massively popular Among Us, plus you enjoy a bit of horror, then Deceit 2 could be the game for you. It mixes together a lot of different aesthetic influences, from Stranger Things and Squid Game with perhaps a bit of Outlast thrown in, to create an atmospheric experience filled with panic, treachery, and the odd jump scare (I may have sworn audibly several times in the office). Once you get a handle on the mechanics, it’s a great old time, and there’s some nice progression with item unlocks and future development potential down the line. Let’s take a closer look!

Key game mechanics

Each match of Deceit 2 supports 4-9 players, though the balancing works best on the higher numbers. Within this group there will be up to two people designated as ‘the infected’ who must keep their nature concealed from the other players, the majority of whom will be classed as ‘the innocent’.

Each turn of the game is split between two main phases. In the regular period of the game, the innocent must work to complete tasks to unlock souls which they can use to cash in at the The Peddler (as depicted by an inter-dimensional hand) for items to help them in their quest to defeat the infected. The infected members, in their human form, must act as if they are doing the same as everybody else, whilst secretly sabotaging the proceedings and activating various Blood Alters around the map. If the infected are successful in doing this it brings about ‘The In-Between’ phase of the game.

The In-Between phase is when the infected are able to turn into their true forms (though they don’t have to do so, if they want to keep the other players fooled). In this form they can capture and execute the innocent, who must run and hide around the map until the phase ends, though they can also use various items to aid their evasion. The infected themselves do however also have a range of powers to disrupt the plans of the innocent, including the ability to randomly teleport them all around the map once per turn.

The final role is that of ‘The Guardian’ who is essentially a single innocent with the ability to rescue an executed member of the innocent once in the game.

After the end of each ‘in-Between’ phase the innocent must vote on who they think is the infected. If there are enough votes for a single person then they are banished, whether they’re innocent or not.

My experience

The character you select in Deceit 2 doesn’t really affect gameplay, but gives you a range of different cosmetics and animations. They each also have a unique bio associated with them that connects them to the game’s plot. 

In my first few rounds I was playing as old boy Hans, an unassuming man of few words and no family with a suspicious knowledge in explosives and espionage techniques.

Despite having quickly viewed an instructional YouTube video, I was initially reliant upon my fellow players for help in working out the game’s mechanics in the first round (luckily they were all very friendly). I promptly got my head caved in by a terrifying beast in the first In-Between phase as I ran from the gaze of malevolent eyes that opened across the map (PS if you’re in the same predicament – use the torch or camera from The Peddler to blind them).

In the second round I played with the same crew, I began to find my feet. Playing as one of The Infected, I was able to secretly communicate with my fellow Infected via a secondary voice channel, who instructed me to remain in my human form for the entirety of the first round so as not to arouse suspicion. It ultimately paid off and we polished off the team after a few rounds.

In the third round I was once again an Innocent, but this time utilised my torch to successfully evade attack from the Infected for a good few rounds, before finally being shot in the face by a woman I thought was my companion whilst I ineffectually shined a torch at her. I had a thoroughly good time. 

My subsequent playthroughs were equally as fun as I began to learn what each of the unlockable items could do and more nuanced ways to play the game.

Future development

The developers of the game, World Makers are a Cambridge/London-based UK startup that came out with the original Deceit back in 2017 to widespread acclaim, along with a good few highly rated DLCs for the base game. You can play the original titles for free (although you’ll still have to cough up for the DLC), but this latest title costs a mere $9.99/£8.50 on Steam, which is very reasonable indeed.
World Makers promise a number of new additional features between now and the full release, which you can see on their official roadmap on the game’s homepage, including new roles players can take up, plus a new map and various visual updates.

The game had a Steam-only launch back on the 14th of September with a full launch, including on console platforms, still to come. The console release will be limited to current-gen consoles, specifically the Xbox Series S|X and PlayStation 5, but full crossplay will be available. There’s no specific date as to when this will be, though late-November was the original aim according to a Steam community announcement, but this appears to have been pushed back. Personally, we’re always in favour of developers not rushing a game out, so World Makers taking their time to make sure it’s the full McCoy seems like a good idea to us.

Besides consoles, the company are also looking to list the game on Epic Games and other online stores/platforms, plus have it included within the Game Pass subscription service. If successful, this should boost the player count nicely.

Can your PC run Deceit 2?

The minimum requirements for Deceit 2 are very reasonable, and most machines with a dedicated graphics card should have little problem meeting them. That being said we generally advise aiming for as close to the recommended specs as possible to enable you to enjoy the game on the higher settings, and for this a mid-range older gen machine with RTX 3060 or equivalent should be sufficient. If you’re playing on laptop you should aim for one SKU above if you want to play on high settings, namely an RTX 3070 laptop or RTX 4060 laptop.

Deceit 2 Minimum requirements

• OS: 64-bit Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i5-6600 (3.3Ghz) or AMD Ryzen 5 1400 (3.2Ghz)
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 4GB or AMD Radeon RX 470 4GB
• DirectX: Version 12
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 15GB available space
• Additional Notes: SSD (Preferred), HDD (Supported), Low Quality Settings

Deceit 2 Recommended requirements

• OS: 64-bit Windows 11
• Processor: Intel Core i7-8700 (3.2Ghz) or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (3.6 Ghz)
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT or INTEL Arc A770
• DirectX: Version 12
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 15 GB available space
• Additional Notes: SSD, High Quality Settings