Deceit 2 developers on bringing horror home, new maps, Terrors, lore & more

Deceit 2 is the awaited sequel to the 2017 hit Deceit, a social deduction game that pitted players against one another as they fought to survive the 'Terrors', monstrous experiments let loose.

Thanks to Deceit 2's development team, World Makers, we were given the chance to playtest the game and ask the team all about the sequel and how it sets itself apart from the original – for the better.

More items for Truth-Seekers

Survivors (Truth-Seekers) will now have more varied tasks to perform, ranging from chess, opening safes, cracking codes, restoring power, deducing blood types and more. Each task performed will earn survivors 'Souls' which can then be exchanged with the peddler in return for items and weapons. There is now a range of items in the game you can use which will affect gameplay. For example, there is a mask that allows you to temporarily appear as a different character.

Truth-Seekers must earn a certain number of Souls to unlock the 'Escape Key', which can be used to exit the level and win. The catch is of course, with any social deduction game, players will be racked with doubt as two among them will secretly be terrors, tasked with sabotaging and dispatching the others. Deceit 2 is a 6-9 player online social deduction game set in Milhaven Asylum, 1979.

When asked about the new items added to the game, World Makers CEO James Thompson responded:

"There weren't that many items in Deceit 1," Thompson admits.

"You know, we really thought a long time about different options for those and when we went into Deceit 2, we thought, look, we really just wanna expand the ideas."

"So we basically took anything that could affect either the social dynamics or the combat dynamics and kind of looked for ways to add ideas into there."

"We split it into categories, investigation disruption and combat," he explains.

"And there are quite a few disruption items."

"We focused on new ways the infected could create chaos... we tried to expand each item and so it had innocent and infected uses so that it's more of a double-edged sword."

The Devil in the Details

World Makers have confirmed that Deceit 2 will be launching under a low-cost price tag with additional DLCs scheduled to come.

The game will also feature cross-play for PC and console users, with an open beta scheduled for June 2023.

The game is set to launch with an asylum-themed map (which will be available in the beta testing), with a secondary werewolf-themed map due to release in a DLC shortly after.

If you'd like to participate in beta testing for Deceit 2, you can apply via the website here.

New Terror designs and DLC

When discussing the DLC and the additional Terror (monster) designs planned for the game, Thompson said:

" Each monster will be a little bit more unique in Deceit 2. The first monster [in Deceit 2] is based on Deceit 1's original monster, but bigger and stronger. And so, you know, it has that kind of big strong tank vibe to it. With the kind of scary split jaw stuff still.

"There was a werewolf in the original game, but all the Terrors in the original game were kind of similar to each other. They all were pretty much the same shape almost. Whereas in Deceit 2, the werewolf's gonna be a very different shape and have completely different abilities.

"We're definitely playing into each one being a more unique monster."

Expanded lore, who is the Game Master?

Whilst the original Deceit framed the Terrors as experiments gone wrong at the hands of a mysterious, ominous character called the Game Master, Deceit 2 looks to expand on the original lore and provide more context for the game.

The Game Master now lures infected players into making blood sacrifices at various stone pedestals. Once the blood pool is large enough, the strands of reality will blur into the In-between realm, the day will turn into night and the Terrors will be set loose.

"Deceit's a social game and it's all about how players interact," Thompson explained.

"So I guess, in that sense, lore sets a backdrop for things.

"We wanted to push the horror side of the game and the original game had a Game Master, but it was kind of all just him and his technology keeping you in a place and given that we have monsters, we thought it made more sense to go a more kind of Lovecraftian route, like more parallel dimensions, Stranger Things.

"Now, there's a peddler character that runs a shop. There'll definitely be more, content and game around him.

Regarding the mysterious Game Master, Thompson teased:

"We've given him more of a backstory and a lot more kind of story work around him just to kind of create, I suppose, a sense of IP as well."

"I think a story helps give that context and create a good backdrop for the game. Obviously, it's not a story game, but I think having a richer backdrop adds to the experience, so we've put more time into it."

More character skins

Along with the characters featured in the original game, Deceit 2 has added three new 'Truth-Seekers' to the roster, all with fledged-out backstories, making the game a 6-9 player.

Like Deceit, Deceit 2 will include character customisation through various skins and events. Skins from Deceit will not carry over to the sequel, however, as a reward scheme and to recognise the support of players of the original, there will be six reserved skins at launch for existing players.

These skins were voted for by the community and are called 'Legacy Outfits'. Players of the original game will also get Emblems transferred to Deceit 2 but Credits won't be, so spend them while you can.

"We see it mainly as a recognition system because, you know, going to a sequel we wanted to show people too, give people the ability to show off their achievements in Deceit 1, and this is our way for them to transfer some of that into Deceit 2 even though it's a brand-new game," Jord Fox, World Makers Executive Producer and Co-Founder explained.

How Deceit 2 is different to its predecessor

When asked about the key differences between Deceit 2 and the original, Thompson responded:

"Technically it's [Deceit 2] been rebuilt from the ground up," Thompson revealed.

"So, you know, obviously, we've got the slightly more sandbox feel, different structures of the game mode overall, even though it follows the same basic formula. The other big change is the cross-platform nature of it as well", he explains, pointing to the upcoming console release.

"We also have roles in Deceit 2, like the medic. But we also try and do a lot of it just through items so you can choose how you play every game. So, we basically took anything that could affect either the social dynamics or the combat dynamics and kind of looked for ways to add ideas into there.

"There are new systems, like the cracks, the hammer that repairs things, you see engineering-style roles in social deception games as well.

"And that's another thing where you don't start with the gun. You know, we've tried to balance it out so there's some gunplay, but there's also a lot more focus on different ways to play."

Deceit 2 is shaping up to be an overhaul of the original whilst keeping the core gameplay loop that players found entertaining about the first game. The game is yet to set a specified release date, for now, it is set to launch in early 2023.