Games are universal, and for proof of that, look no further than Eternals actor Kumail Nanjiani taking to social media to sing Deathloop’s praises. Given that a movie he stars in is coming out within a month or so, he might be expected to be promoting the movie, or at least his role in it. Instead, he’s talking about video games. Perhaps this shouldn’t be a surprise. After all, Deathloop can be addicting and hard to stop playing.
This is an interesting merger of two separate worlds. Kumail Nanjiani is known for his acting in movies such as The Big Sick and Stuber, and not so much for playing video games. He’s made his career mainly off of his comedic portrayals. Meanwhile, Deathloop, Arkane’s latest action game is being widely praised, but it’s not often that these two circles overlap. Then again, the two do have something in common: video games are frequently adapted into movies, like the upcoming Super Mario movie, and games often take inspiration from movies. Deathloop has been inspired by films ranging from Tarantino to They Live.
Clearly, Kumail Nanjiani has found time in his busy schedule to play some games, because he recently tweeted some fairly high praise of Deathloop, giving it “five stars all round.” He joins many others in praising the game—reviews have been mostly positive (excepting Steam). Nanjiani highlighted the addictiveness of the game, saying he’s “either playing this game or [I’m] thinking about it.” For a game that asks players to come back again and again in its seemingly endless loop, it sounds like it’s hitting its target. Nanjiani also had kind things to say about Deathloop’s gameplay and seemed highly impressed by the game all around. Even with the Denuvo issues that have brought down the game’s score on Steam, reviews for Deathloop are still positive overall.
It’s interesting to see such a big name in an industry that isn’t video games using his platform to highlight a specific game and praise it. In the never-ending debate on whether or not video games are “art,” someone like Kumail Nanjiani, someone with considerable reach and influence, weighing in may hold more credibility with general audiences who otherwise don’t really pay attention to games or game reviews. Video games have a history of hiring big-name actors to portray their characters, whether in voice or in the more obvious examples like Death Stranding or Far Cry 6, the latter of which features a villain clearly modeled to look like Giancarlo Esposito with bone-chilling accuracy. This, along with celebrities like Kumail Nanjiani shouting out specific games, may bring new gamers into the fold who might otherwise never have even thought about the industry.
Clearly, Kumail Nanjiani has his priorities in good order. Maybe he’ll keep letting the world know what games he’s been playing. Or maybe he’s stuck in Arkane’s endlessly fun loop. Either way, it sounds like a match made in heaven.
Deathloop is available for PC and PlayStation 5.
Source: Kumail Nanjiani/Twitter