Soldak’s latest action-RPG, Din’s Legacy, just entered Early Access. What to expect?
Mostly an iteration on the developer’s design formula – with some notable differences to previous games. “Same old Soldak,” then – and that is mostly a good thing.
So, this is another action-RPG with a ton of things to do and thousands of enemies to kill. Instead of a story, Din’s Legacy features a procedurally-generated world that changes independent of your actions. Its denizens battle each other, strive for supremacy, and even the smallest critter can advance in the ranks and become a veritable threat.
As such, your character feels like a mere cog in a huge machine. However, as a chosen champion of the god Din, you actually have the power to make a dent and steer the fate of your world. This is not new; Din already featured prominently as an almighty questgiver in Din’s Curse, an earlier Soldak game.
The game’s standout feature this time around are mutations. As you play, your character slowly learns new skills by mutating. The exact underlying mechanism is still a mystery to me, but this basically boils down to one thing: free skills. Apparently there are also bad mutations and a way to guide your character’s evolution.
I haven’t quite understood all of that yet, to be honest, but then, I’m three hours into a game that supposedly keeps you busy for dozens of hours. Being an Early Access title, I sure do hope that Soldak finds a way to make this particular part more accessible. There generally tends to be an information overload in their games. I expect to settle in eventually.
At the moment, the game is very much playable, but balancing issues and bugs are still pretty obvious. You should probably regard this as an early alpha version, so buyer beware. However, if you’re actually interested in the design process and like to see things take shape right before your eyes, buying in early could be for you.
If that sounds too much like a commitment you’re not quite ready for, may I recommend Din’s Curse instead? It’s easier to get into, and by the time you’re done with it, you’ll probably be excited for Din’s Legacy. In any case, if you know what to expect from a Soldak game, it is shaping up to be an interesting new addition to their catalogue.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejcKEUbiv5s?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
You can purchase Din’s Legacy for $14.99 from Steam. For more information, visit the Soldak Games website or follow developer Steven Peeler on Twitter.
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