14 DAY TRIAL // I’ve been a big fan of Tower of Time since the game’s launch back in 2018. The folks at Event Horizon found a way to mix traditional cRPG elements with a compelling story to provide a very enjoyable experience. By far, the highlight of this mélange of interesting mechanics was the real-time combat that allows you to pause or slow time to give your party member commands.
Dark Envoy is Event Horizon’s next project, a much bigger one both in scale and ambition. Set in a “conflict-torn Guns N’ Sorcery” world, Dark Envoy follows the story of Malakai and Kaela, adventurers and relic hunters who are direct descendants of war refugees.
Jaan was a peaceful world until humans set foot on the planet. Thanks to their superior technology, humans have been able to take on just about every region of the world. Because there was no other piece of territory to expand onto, the two main factions that formed over the years, League of Old Races and Human Empire, started a conflict that will soon engulf the entire world.
Small pockets of land, settlements, and a few minor fortresses managed to maintain their neutrality, so the war hasn’t touched them. One of these settlements is the home of our twins, Malakai and Kaela, who continue to live their lives without having to worry about war.
But that’s about to change since both factions involved in the conflict have interests in the region. In the demo that I had the chance to play, although pretty short, the story felt pretty cohesive and compelling, so I can’t wait to learn more about the world and characters.
In Dark Envoy, you can customize both Malakai and Kaela, choosing their classes, stats and looks. There are four classes available in the game: ranger, adept, engineer and warrior. The demo is limited to level 4 and doesn’t have specialization include, but I did get a taste of the crafting and enchanting systems and they seem pretty good.
The game features the same tactical real-time combat with pause or slow time that made Tower of Time so unique. Personally, I didn’t find it that enjoyable, I would’ve preferred a traditional turn-based or real time combat, but I understand why developers have decided to adopt this system.
Playing with a party of 2-3 characters would’ve probably made battles pretty hard to balance because you typically face several enemies at ones. I played most of the demo without slowing down time and it felt much better.
The few dungeons in the demo were very diverse and so were the enemies I faced. The landscape is very well done, but I reckon that the cutscenes need a little bit of polishing. The party-based gameplay is complemented by full co-op support, so if you want to play with a friend, Dark Envoy does allow that.
Conclusion
The Dark Envoy demo will be available for everyone to play on PC during the Steam Next Fest, which will be held between February 6 and February 13. Don't forget to wishlist Dark Envoy on Steam.
Demo key was provided by the publisher.
