Dotemu Preview Event Recap
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a preview event featuring three upcoming titles from publishers Dotemu and the Arcade Crew. COGconnected has covered Dungeons and Dragons: Long Rest Tavern before. New games included an intriguing genre mashup called Wardens of Avalon, and Deathmaster, an action platformer based on Warhammer Age of Sigmar. Best of all, the presentation was followed by hands-on time with all three games.
Wardens of Avalon
I’m a sucker for games and other entertainment with an Arthurian connection. In Wardens of Avalon, players reclaim and rebuild the legendary isle from the forces of dark corruption and now-evil Knights of the Round Table. As a recently-minted Twilight Knight, you can play alone or in co-op.
That’s a thumbnail of the narrative conceit, but what is the gameplay like? It’s an intriguing combination of isometric third-person action RPG combat, and base/city building, as you expand Camelot with vendors and specialized buildings. The combat will feel natural to ARPG players, with melee, ranged weapons and magic. Part of exploration involves killing monsters and bosses. Another part is gathering crafting materials to expand your camp and upgrade your gear. Of course, a great many NPCs — many familiar from the stories of King Arthur — give you quests.
Combat already feels good, and spells in particular are fun and powerful. Gathering materials is painless, and building is intuitive and smooth. My only complaints are that there’s no controller support (yet) and the camera can be an uncooperative part of the proceedings. I look forward to seeing where Wardens of Avalon is headed.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Deathmaster
Hands down, my favorite Warhammer Age of Sigmar race are the Skaven, treacherous and fierce rats that want to conquer the Mortal Realms. Fast and sneaky, Skaven are masters of dark spaces, shadows, and stealth.
Those elements are central to Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Deathmaster, which is an upcoming 2D action platformer. You play as the hooded Ratman Vihneek, an ambitious assassin devoted to skittering to the top of his shadowy Eshin clan at all costs. You might guess that stealth is a major part of Vihneek’s toolkit, and you’d be right. Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Deathmaster is definitely an action game where a lot of time is spent not being seen.
Rats have incredible mobility, of course, and Vihneek can do much more than skitter and jump. He can climb vertical walls and hang upside down. Part of Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Deathmaster is puzzle-like exploration through the layered environments. Vihneek uses elements of the world to set traps and spring out of the darkness to kill.Â
Considering how many Warhammer games there are, It’s surprising how few come from the Age of Sigmar branch of the tree. Even more surprising is the near total lack of 2D games and platformers based on the franchise. Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Deathmaster definitely aims for an unfilled niche. After playing a bit of the game, I’m really excited to see Vihneek’s journey through to the end.
***Codes provided by the publisher for preview***
