Risk of Rain creator Duncan "Hopoo" Drummond may have only joined Valve to work on Deadlock just under two months ago, but his fingerprints are already well and truly on the MOBA thanks to two new heroes.
Over on the game's dedicated Discord, Drummond confirms that, yes, he was the lead on Viper and Magician. Fans already had a hunch thanks to the former more than the latter having some strong Risk of Rain vibes, and even now continue to talk about the shared DNA.
"Viper playing with the slide mechanic reminded me a lot of Hopoo Games' work from Survivors of the Void and beyond, so this makes total sense," one fan says. "The majority of newer Risk of Rain characters have been designed around exploring some core game mechanics like crits, healing, temporary items, etc. Even Gearbox is following the trend with False Son playing off of health-boosting items.
- Deadlock updates will be "a little bit more spaced out" so Valve can "improve our development process," but you can expect bigger major patches when they arrive
- Despite shifting gear to Arrowhead's next game after a sabbatical, studio CEO clarifies that Helldivers 2 creative lead Johan Pilestedt will "absolutely still be involved"
"It's such a simple yet clever way to create new character concepts, and it doesn’t surprise me in the least that they’re carrying that philosophy over to their work on Deadlock."
Another, more simply, says: "Viper is such a Hopoo character."
Currently in Deadlock's Hero Labs, Viper is a slithery assassin who can jump high-priority targets thanks to their strong ability to slide on in. The Magician, not to be forgotten, is more about confusing foes through their dirty ol' magic tricks. Mind you, as both of these characters are on the Hero Labs, they are likely subject to change. Regardless, we're sure the good ol' Risk of Rain DNA will remain.
