We also go a little farther afield and talk about some of our favorite uses of time loop mechanics in other media like film, books, and manga. Sometimes it’s used to plumb the depths of the human condition (Groundhog Day and Palm Springs) and other times to set up cool action sequences and weird sci-fi hijinks (Steins;Gate and Kill la Kill). Is tedious drudgery a necessary byproduct of games that have you play through the same levels, maps, and encounters, or is there a way to convey a sense of mastery bred by repetition that doesn’t feel like a grind? We discuss this and more.

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Senior reporter and Kotaku elder Mike Fahey is still in the final stages of recovering from a recent bout of covid-19 (send him all your love and good vibes please!) so newly minted staff writer Renata Price was kind of enough to fill in and offer some interesting takes on how Deathloop changes up the traditional Arkane formula.

Remember that new episodes come out every Friday, so like and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher to get them as soon as they go live. You can leave a review, too, or drop us a line at splitscreen@kotaku.com if you have questions or want to suggest a topic. Or if you want to deliver your hottakes in realtime you can reach us on Twitter: I’m @ethangach, Lisa Marie is @lisamarie_lynn, and Renata is @RenOrRaven. Catch you next week!