I love a good RPG. No, not those ones with androgynous, pink haired people that inevitably start off with the hero being awoken by his mum. Those are for babies. I mean real RPGS! Western ones, with generic high fantasy elements! They very usually tell intriguing, engaging narratives and don’t require you to stab bits of slime for XP, or ride Big Bird’s kweh-ing cousins. But as good as those proper RPGS are, there’s one thing about them (other than mindless fetch quests and shard collect-a-thons) that’s usually rubbish. The combat.
Even The Witcher 3, which has catapulted itself to the upper echelons of my favourite games of all time has pretty mediocre combat. Hack, slash, parry, stab stab, Igni stab. It may be a million times better than Dragon Age’s combat, but it’s still largely awful. What would be great is a proper, narrative-driven RPG with good, meaty, visceral combat. Something a little akin to the sort of melee action you’d find in Dark Souls, only with an expansive intertwining cinematic story.
That’s what you may be getting with Mooncrest, a new RPG from KnightMayor. You may never have heard of KnightMayor, but the point worth knowing s that it’s largely made up for former Bioware staffers; people who worked on games like Mass Effect, Jade Empire and Dragon Age.
Mooncrest, they say, is “a single-player, story-based fantasy RPG, with a focus on real-time tactical combat, cinematic conversations, and challenging puzzles.” It will be “a character driven fantasy RPG, inspired by such classic games as Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, and Jade Empire while incorporating modern combat design philosophies of titles such as Dark Souls.”
Which all sounds a little too good to be true. For those who like a bit of representation in the in games, it’ll focus on the stories of Sera and Pirotase; the playable female character and her companion.
“Sera is noble yet callow while Pirotase is more worldly and chaotic. Despite obvious disparities in their personalities neither will be able to complete their agendas without the other’s assistance. Your interactions with Pirotase are key to the unfolding narrative and players will spend time navigating their conflicting personalities. Players will engage with Pirotase and the other characters through cinematic conversations.”
It all sounds rather promising, save for one fact: It’ll be a crowdfunded game, with KnightMayor launching its Kickstarter in the next few days. You can keep up to date on the game’s official site, here.
Last Updated: July 23, 2015
Umar
July 23, 2015 at 12:44
Yet another bland WRPG in fantasy setting. Elves and huts with straw roofs everywhere. Enjoy your ADULT games while I go play some more imaginative RPGs. #salty
Geoffrey Tim
July 23, 2015 at 12:54
WHAT A BABY.
Umar
July 23, 2015 at 13:03
YOUR FACE IS A BABY. A BIG FAT SHARD BABY!
Ranting Raptor
July 23, 2015 at 12:46
Real time combat…. BRING BACK TURN BASED DARNIT!!!!!
Captain JJ Fantasticus
July 23, 2015 at 12:47
Divinity Original Sin.
Admiral Chief in Skellige
July 23, 2015 at 12:54
Don’t support pink hair androgyny, XCOM 2 is coming!
Ranting Raptor
July 23, 2015 at 12:55
lol
Dutch Matrix
July 23, 2015 at 14:13
I thing it is your turn to keep quiet… 😛
Ranting Raptor
July 24, 2015 at 06:59
hehehehehe
Captain JJ Fantasticus
July 23, 2015 at 12:47
Your face has mediocre combat! 😛
Witcher 3 has some decent combat compared to games before it. Kingdoms of Amalur also had quite a nice system.
Umar
July 23, 2015 at 12:48
Wither 3 combat is pretty standard, imo. It flows really well though, and you really have to take note of what is going unlike Dragon Age Shardquisition, but there isn’t MUCH variety and it gets kinda samey after a while.
Hammersteyn
July 23, 2015 at 12:51
You can parry attacks very easily. But the combat doesn’t feel as alive as Bloodbornes.
Umar
July 23, 2015 at 12:52
Doesn’t have much weight to it. It’s not bad as far as combat systems go, but it’s nothing special.
Captain JJ Fantasticus
July 23, 2015 at 12:52
If you’ve played an Elder Scrolls game then you truly understand what standard combat is.
I’m not saying W3 has incredible combat, but it’s definitely not uninspired.
Umar
July 23, 2015 at 12:54
I don’t know, its FAR better than Skyrim, but to me it feels uninspired. The Signs give some nice variety but combat tends to follow the same pattern after a while.
Ranting Raptor
July 23, 2015 at 12:55
Have to agree here hehe.
Hammersteyn
July 23, 2015 at 12:48
I still don’t like Witchers combat. Mash button till bad man goes down? The signs are a nice touch though.
HairyEwok
July 23, 2015 at 12:52
XD Oh lord that song…
http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/2015-04/2/18/enhanced/webdr15/anigif_original-grid-image-23257-1428014165-4.gif
Hammersteyn
July 23, 2015 at 12:52
Lol!
Captain JJ Fantasticus
July 23, 2015 at 12:59
Now it’s stuck in my head.
Thank you very much. ;P
Umar
July 23, 2015 at 12:51
“Look M’lord! Another elf on the horizon. Ready your bow!” Coz modern age weaponry and settings are too mainstream. WRPGs are like the Hipsters of the RPG land.
Captain JJ Fantasticus
July 23, 2015 at 12:53
Batman in Mordor had some nice combat here and there. Though it really came to light when you did stealth operations.
Admiral Chief in Skellige
July 23, 2015 at 12:55
Nope, not KotOR3, moving on
Ghost In The Rift
July 23, 2015 at 13:07
^^^THIS……i feel the same way.
Brady miaau
July 23, 2015 at 14:47
Disney. I hope they come to the party in a meaningful way.
Kromas,powered by windows 10.
July 23, 2015 at 13:18
Sooo … a game made by people who have made tons of those sorts of games and they immediately drop “create your own hero” for generic male/female heroes.
Yawn.
Call me when Mass Effect 4 arrives.
The Sten
July 23, 2015 at 13:27
Finally Brienne of Tarth gets her own game
Fabiano Morais
July 23, 2015 at 14:48
stick with your grim, “adult” WRPGs, I’ll stick with this anytime:
konfab
July 23, 2015 at 23:15
Sera was never quite the elegant girl, her blows were repetative and scriptive…