Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem. Games coming in January 2020
Table of Contents
Release date: January 30
INFORMATION
- Genre: hack'n'slash
- Platforms: PC
- Approximate price: $40
What is Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem?
This is the debut project of the French Studio Wolcen (formerly SolarFall Games), which gathered funds to finance their first work through a successful Kickstarter campaign. This should be a hack'n'slash in the style of Diablo or Path of Exile, which will offer substantially better graphics provided by the CryEngine engine.
What is the story of Wolcen?
We play a former officer of the Republic of People, who accidentally discovered magical abilities. His superiors decided to make him a guinea pig in cruel experiments, which, of course, he didn't like. After escaping, the half-dead protagonist is saved by the order of the Templars, in the ranks of whom he gets the opportunity to learn the truth about their abilities and save the world.
What is the gameplay like in Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem?
Wolcen's general assumptions do not differ from genre standards – the fun will mainly consist in fighting legions of enemies, collecting all the best equipment and improving the hero. However, the production will offer several distinctive elements, such as an experience system based not on classes and skill trees, but rather on the smooth development of the character according to the player's style. The title own also has an extensive crafting system, unlimited solely for creating weapons or armor, but allows you to even build your own home and take care of its furnishings.
OUR EXPECTATIONS
We waited a long time for Wolcen. I'll be honest, I somehow forgot about this hack-n-slash. The creators were digging in the project, picking, entering something, and then I just learn about the premiere. And guess what? I am very positively surprised, because it will probably be the most attractive representative of the genre! Will it be the best one?
Here, I have concerns because I'm not sure that the developers are delivering a full-fledged product. The reveals show that Wolcen will offer three acts, a functional endgame and quite a lot of content that will expand over time – but I doubt the final quality. However, I hope that the developers will be able to surprise me positively, and Wolcen will be more than just an eye-pleasing hack'n'slash.
Patrick ”Petrix" Manelski
OUR EXPECTATIONS
There are always two ways. Either it works or it doesn't. Wolcen has a good chance of going the right way, but it's not at all certain. I took a chance and broke the "no pre-orders!" rule because something attracted me to Wolcen (low price on Steam...?). And I was utterly impressed after a session in Early Access. First, a teaspoon of tar – this game needs to rebalance some builds. Streamers show it's much better to play with melee characters than ranged or mages – and, indeed, at this point, I liked the attack with a sword in my hand the most. At higher levels, this may change, and the developers still have time to balance.
And the barrel of honey? Wolcen looks crazy good, convincing even those who don't like hack n slashes. The character development system allows a lot of freedom, draws from Diablo, Path of Exile and Grim Dawn, but makes all these mechanics coherent and transparent – and damn flexible. Collecting equipment is satisfying, and, in addition, the game we has a simple, but well conveyed story that meaningfully embeds the world of the main character and his companions. The relationship with the NPCs are the main thrust of the story. This may be the best narrative hack'n'slash, which, by the way, is not inferior to the titans of the genre. Let's see if Wolcen Studio will deliver in time.
Hubert Sosnowski
