People who kickstarted the action-RPG Umbra may have been a little surprised when the name changed to Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem. However the game has retained its form; and this early release shows good promise.
In its current state Wolcen shows huge potential, bringing back the isometric RPG gameplay in the likes of Diablo and Torchlight. Boasting phenomenal graphics and the promise of extensive gameplay Wolcen could be the return for those who miss the classic Diablo gameplay.
The first thing you’ll notice loading up this game is just how utterly gorgeous it is. CryEngine may have seemed a strange choice for an ARPG however it is utilised very well, moving from caves to bright forest really shows off the lighting engine and the overall graphical quality of the game is just amazing. While in its early stage plenty of optimising is still needed those with lower power graphic cards have a wide array of graphical options including a bulk low setting option.
Gameplay wise this is a fairly typical APRG. Clicking is your main source of movement, with a surprisingly few controls placed under the hand. Some stretching is required on the keyboard controls however the most commonly used hotkeys are all close together though this would have been nice for all the keys.
It’s hard to tell how the story will play out in this game. Very little is given to you from the start however it seems to revolve around magic and people’s fear of it. NPC’s currently don’t have any individuality to them, though this is probably more down to the early access status of the game than anything else.
If you want a yes or no answer on this game then the answer is yes. I predict this will definitely be a wonderful return to the ARPG genre brought up to modern graphical standards. The current early access version on Steam is only £15.00 and it’s well worth picking up and sitting on for when the game releases. Updates are fairly regular, and I will probably sit on this game until its release and enjoy the hell out of it.
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