Fatekeeper Preview
I remember seeing early game play footage of Fatekeeper several months ago and being blown away. Now that the game has entered early access there’s even more to be excited about. The roughly two hours of game so far is far from perfect, but I’m guessing by the time it reaches full release, Fatekeeper will be, well, a keeper.
Dark Messiah Souls-adjacent
Fatekeeper is a first-person action RPG. It immediately feels like a modern take on Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, or maybe a hardcore riff on Skyrim. You wield melee weapons with one hand, and cast magic with the other. You can dodge, block, and parry and use light or heavy attacks. It’s a familiar set of tricks, or maybe shorthand. You know the basics.
That’s not to say there’s no learning curve. There is, and it’s currently a pretty steep one. Mostly, this has to do with Fatekeeper’s very specific enemy attack timings, sluggish player movement, and learning the controls. If you haven’t played an action RPG with mouse and keyboard lately, prepare for some frustration. Keys can be liberally rebound, but it will take some practice to become comfortable with the controls. Let’s hope the controller support is on the near horizon.
Combat itself is a combination of satisfying melee and powerful magic, undercut a little by those klutzy controls and a lack of weight and impact. At least so far, the enemy types are pretty varied, and even the lowest-level foe can kill you in a few poorly defended hits. I can already feel like the game’s combat has incredible potential. Looking at the very extensive skill tree, the full game looks to offer elaborate ways to build unique character types.
Postcards from Hell
One standout feature of Fatekeeper is its visuals and photorealistic graphics. I mean, a game has to be about more than impressive tech, but you can’t help but be impressed by Fatekeeper’s level of detail, lighting effects, and spells. Combat animations lack a little polish but the enemies and weapons are richly imagined.
You’d think those fancy graphics and the usual early access hiccups would torpedo things like framerates, but Fatekeeper was solid. There are lots of ways to customize the graphics for a range of hardware. I had no crashes, and load times were impressively fast.
Right now, Fatekeeper only hints at the narrative arc. You play as a low-level Warden, trying to increase your skills to become a Sentinel in an ongoing battle between surface and underground factions. A spirit guide — taking the form of a talky rodent companion — helps with exploration, narrative, and mechanics. In true RPG fashion, there’s crafting, gathering, and alchemy to keep you busy back at Haven, your home base.
Just a Glimpse
Everytime I play a really early early-access game, I have a wish list. I’ll bet you do, too. In the case of Fatekeeper, controller support comes first, followed by a tweak or two to animations, attack timing, and more clarity to the rather opaque upgrade and skill system. Of course, Fatekeeper in its present form is little more than a successful proof of concept, an appetizer, but it’s a tempting one. I often look forward to seeing how these kinds of games develop, but Fatekeeper has me particularly excited to follow over the coming months.
***PC code provided by the publisher for preview***
