14 DAY TRIAL // Our Incoming 2015 series focuses on the most important game launches of the next 12 months and next up we talk about one of the most anticipated online role-playing games of the year – Shadow Realms – developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts.
What we know
Shadow Realms is the impressive looking online role-playing experience made by BioWare's Austin team, which promises to include both cooperative and competitive experiences in a single package.
Players can take on the role of heroes, which are every-day characters that are transported to a mythical world where they can choose from classes like Warrior, Assassin, Wizard, and much more, and then venture forth in a match against the forces of the Shadowlord. Players can also opt to control the Shadowlord himself, who tries to defeat the heroes before they make all the way through the level.
Heroes can deploy special abilities during the fights that feature both offensive and defensive effects. Shadowlords, on the other hand, can spawn tougher minions and even take control of some of them in order to inflict more damage on the group of heroes.
The environments are pretty varied, and from I could experience at Gamescom 2014, the multiplayer RPG experience has the potential to deliver something really fun. The title is powered by Frostbite 3, which has already proven that it can bring forth gorgeous environments with Inquisition, Battlefield 4, and other EA titles.
Recently, rumors about a reboot of the project have started floating around, but in the absence of anything concrete from EA or BioWare, this article only includes the official info.
Why it matters
BioWare has proven time and time again that it can craft beautiful role-playing experiences. With the recent Dragon Age: Inquisition, it delivered not just a stellar story campaign that took players through lush environments, but also included a great multiplayer mode that's cooperative only but still nails all the right things to impress fans.
Without a doubt the team behind that mode and the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer, BioWare Montreal, is helping Austin with its online experience so the potential is there for something just as addictive.
The studio hasn't revealed that many things about the game's universe and plot, however, so expect to hear more as we head into 2015.
Right now, Shadow Realms is set to appear this year for the PC platform and might boast a free-to-play license. Depending on the success, PS4 or Xbox One editions won't be far behind.