In a few days, a very exciting action RPG, Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem, will be released. We explain why you should keep an eye on this hack ‘n slay.
What is Wolcen? Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem was announced under the name Umbra in 2015 with a Kickstarter campaign. Even back then, the hack ‘n slay impressed with its stunning graphics. It uses the CryEngine.
Now, for copyright reasons, the game is called Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem and looks even better. It is a typical hack ‘n slay where you experience plenty of quests in a dark fantasy world with your hero and fight against hordes of enemies.
You also collect a lot of loot to get better equipment and improve your hero in a classless system based on skills. You assemble your armor from individual parts like breastplates and shoulder pieces and can combine weapons with different fighting stances that then have special effects.
Wolcen aims to impress mainly with its detailed graphics and atmosphere. You won’t find any colorful comic visuals; the hack ‘n slay is dark, brutal, and dirty, which is reflected in the graphics.
It’s about to get exciting
Is there a multiplayer mode? Yes. You can explore the world cooperatively with up to three friends, fight against monsters, and complete quests together.
When will the game be released? Wolcen will leave early access on Steam on February 13 and officially launch. Initially, the release of the PC version is planned. However, the developers have already hinted at a version for Xbox One and PS4.
Is it playable in early access? Yes. You can currently buy Wolcen on Steam for €29.99 and play the first of three acts.
What are the reactions to the early access version? In the past 30 days, Wolcen has received a rating of 88% and “very positive” on Steam.
- kwarner1979 writes on Steam: “This game is fantastic, and I recommend it to everyone. For those who love Diablo, Grim Dawn, and to some extent, PoE, this game is similar enough to feel at home yet unique enough to stand out from the others.”
- DadwithSkill says: “Coming from Blizzard’s Diablo series, it feels like this is the next step in the genre. This game far surpasses everything Diablo has ever achieved, and I am very much looking forward to its release and further development.”
- NightsLP believes: “The game itself is great. I love this healthy mix of Diablo and POE! It is really well done.”
What are the current criticisms? However, there are a few criticisms as well.
- The early access version of Wolcen does not yet show all aspects of the game, making it a bit hard to assess how the finished game will actually feel.
- Furthermore, the somewhat long loading times and some bugs are criticized.
- Most of the criticism comes from some backers of the Kickstarter campaign. Back then, the game was advertised as having an open world. This is no longer the case. There are now larger and smaller zones for you to explore. This change has apparently caused some disappointment.
This could become really exciting
Who is Wolcen suitable for? Wolcen is a hack ‘n slay aimed at anyone who wants to see what an action RPG with modern graphics can look like today. If you are tired of the colorful visuals of Diablo 3 and are intrigued by how Diablo 4 looks in the first gameplay videos, then you should check out Wolcen. Also, if you enjoy the successful Grim Dawn, this new hack ‘n slay is very interesting.
Furthermore, the game focuses on fast, action-packed battles, plenty of loot, and a dark atmosphere. You can also develop your character according to your preferences based on a vast skill tree. This is not as complex as in Path of Exile (PoE), but still offers a lot of options with 40 skills, each with 12 to 16 modifiers.
Moreover, the apocalyptic forms you can transform into are interesting, each bringing unique abilities and ultimates that can be tactically applied, especially in boss battles.
Will the game be developed over time? Yes. New story acts are already planned, as well as further regularly released content and ongoing adjustments based on player feedback.
This is what Mein-MMO author Andreas Bertits thinks: I have already seen the first act of Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem and am thrilled. The hack ‘n slay plays quickly, there is always something happening, and the graphics are simply fantastic. Moreover, you constantly find a lot of loot and thus always feel like you are achieving something.
The game areas are not all randomly generated, which could perhaps slightly affect the replay value. However, the zones are designed to be very varied, so at least in my play sessions, there was no boredom. I would have liked a more detailed character creation, which is planned for the release. Also, the loading times were quite long at times.
The balancing was also still somewhat unbalanced. Alone, I could essentially progress to the boss enemy of the first act without major problems, who then swept the floor with me. This came as quite a surprise given the moderate difficulty level before the fight. But these are details that the team is surely already working on. The scope of the action RPG must also fit at launch. However, it is still unclear how long one will be engaged with the content.
Wolcen could not only very well bridge the waiting time for Diablo 4, but if the developers manage to continually deliver good content, Blizzard can expect serious competition here.
