16. Nox. 16. Nox. 25 best hack'n'slash hames of all time (2023)

October 19, 2023

16. Nox

I bet that most of you associate the achievements of Westwood Studios with RTS games - especially with the Command & Conquer series - rather than with Role-play games. Although, older players probably remember titles such as Eye of the Beholder and Lands of Lore. And what about hack'n'slash? It turns out that the people from Westwood in 2000 also happened to develop a production representing a genre of interest to us - the unique and excellent Nox.

One of the most unusual things about the discussed production is the plot. In the intro, we see a classic fantasy universe - the title Nox - in which the queen of the undead, named Hecubah, summons a powerful crystal that is the key to dominating the world. This artifact was hidden in an alternate dimension - on our modern Earth. The wicked queen opens a portal between universes, which sucks in the crystal and its owner - Jack, an ordinary American bacon lover who has no knowledge of magic (he uses the artifact as a decoration) or even of repairing a television set. During this activity, he falls into the portal. Naturally, in the other dimension, Jack quickly becomes a hero candidate and starts a crash course in sword-swinging, sorcery, and summoning wild beasts.

It isn't a coincidence that I mentioned such activities. The game - at the start - gives you a choice of three character classes: warrior, wizard, and conjurer. This is another unique feature of Nox - a given class determines not only the skills and equipment that the protagonist will use but also significantly affects the gameplay. The first hours of playing are completely different depending on the chosen class, moreover, we can expect a different ending.

Nox also features an interactive environment (moving obstacles and jumping over them, extinguishing fire with water barrels, etc.), as well as the TrueSight system - a technology that simulates the protagonist's realistic field of view by dynamically darkening areas obscured by the walls and other objects. Although the graphics have been nibbled by the teeth of time, TrueSight can still impress even today.

And another interesting addition - multiplayer. The developers prepared not only cooperation (with 20 levels distinct from the campaign) but also competitive modes, such as deathmatch or capture the flag, played on relatively small arenas. Unfortunately, Nox, despite an appealing and skillfully executed concept, didn't get a chance to develop into a series. Westwood Studios was absorbed by Electronic Arts, which sent almost the entire portfolio (except the Command & Conquer series) to the devil, including Nox. An irreparable loss for the genre.