Deadlock, Valve’s unreleased hero shooter, is the best game you should be playing now

Multiplayer games making headlines is hardly a rarity in 2026, as the ill-advised wave of COVID-era investment in live-service games continues breaking on the shore. Valve’s Deadlock is different. It’s a mashup of styles, with elements of things like Dota 2 and Valorant, a little Risk of Rain, a splash of Hades, and plenty of its own unique spirit too. It’s impressive, especially for a game whose makers didn’t even intend for it to be widely playable yet.