Game News Dark Envoy is a steampunkish non-linear turn-based tactical RPG from the makers of Tower of Time

[Infinitron]

Tags: Dark Envoy; Event Horizon

Last year, a Polish indie studio by the name of Event Horizon released a real-time-with-pause isometric dungeon crawler called Tower of Time. That's not the kind of thing you'd think the Codex would be interested in, but apparently it was quite good. In fact, it did well enough that they're now making another isometric tactical RPG, and this time it's turn-based so we'll give it our full attention. The game is called Dark Envoy, and it's described by the developers as a "non-linear RPG with free world exploration" inspired by Divinity, XCOM and Dragon Age. It's set in a steampunk-flavored fantasy world where technology clashes with magic. Here's the announcement trailer and an excerpt from the game's Steam page:

Dark Envoy is a non-linear RPG inspired by the likes of the Divinity series, XCOM, FTL, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age to offer free world exploration with an emphasis on tactical combat layered with lore and strategy. A continuation of Event Horizon’s attempt, which began with the studio’s debut title Tower of Time, to shatter long-standing RPG tropes and to create something unique in the process.

Explore the world using your Skyship, it is your base of operations after all. Hunt for mythical locations, and procedurally generated dungeons with optional tactical objectives. Choose wisely where to travel however, as the world map adjusts with the passing of in-game time. Locations will randomly respawn, becoming progressively more challenging to travel for you and your party.

Features

• Non-linear RPG with turn-based combat accompanied by a real time pre-combat phase where tactics and party power are equally important.
  
• Player choices impact the world: it can be destroyed or saved, and the stories that unfold will lead to multiple endings reflecting the characters’ personalities and decisions.
  
• Co-written by Michael Chatfield, an Amazon Top 100 Science Fiction / Fantasy writer (specializing in litRPG genre).
  
• 15 unique character classes to discover - with the ability to mix skill trees - including some rare classes which can only be found in remote locations or through chained quests.
  
• New RPG system, promoting experimentation and requiring frequent adaptation to the new challenges.
  
• Can be played solo, two player co-op, as well as a unique mode called Player vs World where Player 2 acts as the final boss seeking to destroy Player 1 before he/she becomes too powerful.
  
• High-replayability factor due to large pool of quests, local, and world events. One cannot uncover all of the content in a single playthrough.

Event Horizon plan to release Dark Envoy sometime in the second half of 2020, and they're going to be at Gamescom later this month with a combat demo. For additional details and future updates, check out the game's official website.

 

[Alpan]

Co-written by Michael Chatfield, an Amazon Top 100 Science Fiction / Fantasy writer (specializing in litRPG genre).

The LitRPG is one of the more infantile trends to grace the written word in the last decade or so (elevator pitch: fantasy lit where the protagonist is inside an MMO). It is somewhat weird and honestly off-putting to see this as a selling point.

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

Co-written by Michael Chatfield, an Amazon Top 100 Science Fiction / Fantasy writer (specializing in litRPG genre).

The LitRPG is one of the more infantile trends to grace the written word in the last decade or so (elevator pitch: fantasy lit where the protagonist is inside an MMO). It is somewhat weird and honestly off-putting to see this as a selling point.

I never heard of it before but I just read the description/definition on Wikipedia and sounds basically the novel equivalent of what "Isekai" are for manga and anime.

 

[Delterius]

Co-written by Michael Chatfield, an Amazon Top 100 Science Fiction / Fantasy writer (specializing in litRPG genre).

The LitRPG is one of the more infantile trends to grace the written word in the last decade or so (elevator pitch: fantasy lit where the protagonist is inside an MMO). It is somewhat weird and honestly off-putting to see this as a selling point.

I can't say I've read something like a 'LitRPG' but wouldn't the writing be similar to, say, CYOAs?

if you wanna talk about shitty genres we can always bitch about steampunk

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Delterius]

thalmor robe + hat & revolvers?

thalmor = perfidious albion

 

[Van-d-all]

Co-written by Michael Chatfield, an Amazon Top 100 Science Fiction / Fantasy writer (specializing in litRPG genre).

The LitRPG is one of the more infantile trends to grace the written word in the last decade or so (elevator pitch: fantasy lit where the protagonist is inside an MMO). It is somewhat weird and honestly off-putting to see this as a selling point.

I never heard of it before but I just read the description/definition on Wikipedia and sounds basically the novel equivalent of what "Isekai" are for manga and anime.

Non coincidentally it has also been a mainstay in anime for years now (2002 .hack/sign I think). It's rather lousy 99% of the time.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Co-written by Michael Chatfield, an Amazon Top 100 Science Fiction / Fantasy writer (specializing in litRPG genre).

The LitRPG is one of the more infantile trends to grace the written word in the last decade or so (elevator pitch: fantasy lit where the protagonist is inside an MMO). It is somewhat weird and honestly off-putting to see this as a selling point.

I never heard of it before but I just read the description/definition on Wikipedia and sounds basically the novel equivalent of what "Isekai" are for manga and anime.

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/litrpg-thread.128402/

 

[Van-d-all]

I can't say I've read something like a 'LitRPG' but wouldn't the writing be similar to, say, CYOAs?

Not really, it's a rather asinine trend where the technical, number crunching RPG//MMO aspects are just open part of world building. Like characters openly talking about their stats, looking each other status windows and the like. Stuff that would get you banned on more hardcore "roleplay" MMOs of old. As a storyfag I find it repulsive, but some people will claim it's breaking the 4th wall and a natural order of things when cRPG is closely coupled with character stats...

 

[Harry Easter]

Huh, Steampunk would be nice. Tower of Time was a bit overwritten for my taste (at least the beginning), but this could be good. I will keep an eye out for that. To be honest: I like the aesthetic of that conquistador with the gas mask. Gasmasks and armors are always a treat.

As for the author: as long as he's disciplined and remembers that he writes for a game, he can still be good. Who knows, maybe he's an even better writer than author. At least the dialogues might be readable or he knows when to cut something.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

I can't say I've read something like a 'LitRPG' but wouldn't the writing be similar to, say, CYOAs?

But without the "CYO"? Who comes up with this shit?

 

[Delterius]

I can't say I've read something like a 'LitRPG' but wouldn't the writing be similar to, say, CYOAs?

But without the "CYO"? Who comes up with this shit?

BioWare?



sick burn

 

[The_Mask]

The still shots remind me of Dishonored.

 

[Glop_dweller]

The gunslinger reminds me of Caleb.

 

[Jack Dandy]

The premise sounds pretty damned cool, and I like the trailer. Following.

 

[Morality Games]

I'll keep an eye on it, but is this the Baldur Gate's PC + friends style party, the dungeon crawler all player made party, or the Blackguards-ensemble party? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Swampy_Merkin]

Tower of Time was interesting and fun at first but quickly devolved into an extremely tedious dungeon crawl. The story from the beginning seemed to hold promise, but it maintained the same somnambulistic tone throughout to the point where I quickly stopped giving a fuck.

The loot was ultimately too random, the loot upgrade-crafting system too obtuse, and the encounters just way too fucking long. And the combat system itself was entirely tank and spank MMO derivative.

If that was their very first game as a team then I'll give them some credit for making a somewhat enjoyable, not entirely derivative game. But I'm not holding my breath that this next attempt will be worth my time.

 

[Saark]

Tower of Time was a decent time-sink, although ultimately I didn't finish it because the game was a bit too repetitive. I still very much enjoyed my first ~30hrs and only gave up shortly before the end. I should replay it.

Seeing how it was the studios very first title, I'm very much looking forward to their new project, because ToT did a lot of stuff right. The premise looks interesting enough, and if they nail the turn-based combat it'll already be much more enjoyable. Tower of Time with turn-based combat instead of RtwP would've already been a much better game.