Anyone would be fascinated by the ideas behind Achilles: Legends Untoldthe project in epic salsa And soulslike totally independent Dark Point Gamesspecies those who spent their childhood listening to the exploits of Homeric heroes almost like a spiritual inheritance to be collected.
We too of iCrewPlay we let this work bewitch us, and we followed its realization until we got the chance to try its beta version, bringing the experience back to this preview. Today instead we will focus on the freshly released version in early accesswhich like the previous one has not escaped our sight.
Achilles: Legends Untold, sing me, o Diva, of the Achilles Pelis
As we have already seen, the story sung by Diva is very different from that narrated ad Homer at the time that was: catapulted into the middle of a rather concise version of the siege of Troylet’s see a Achilles totally OP than anyone around him who gets rid of every opponent in a snap of his fingers. Even Hectorhis quintessential opponent, easily succumbs to his blows despite having a whole platoon of archers to watch his back (this Homer would never have written it).
Come to the decisive confrontation with Parisyounger brother of the just defeated Trojan hero, the proverbial foot fast from Achilles it is not enough for him to steal him from the arrows of his young enemy, making him pay the fateful price also sung in the poems: a young death for an everlasting glory.
He thus finds himself in the Tartara hellish dimension populated by monstrous beings and formidable warriors, where he is greeted by Hades, lord of that place and deity of the dead. In exchange for giving him his life and therefore a new opportunity to accumulate glory, the master of the afterlife entrusts him with the arduous task of getting rid of Phobosgod of fear and carnal son of the god of war Areshis opponent.
Thus, armed with sets coming directly from the forge of Hephaestusgod of fire, Achilles begins his mission.
What goes and what still does not go
Having already extensively described the various features of Achilles: Legends Untold in the last preview to which we have referred above, it seems appropriate dwell more on improvements made to the title during these three months that separate the two versions.
Let’s start by talking about the duration: compared to that hour of play proposed by betahere we seem to be in front of a good chunk of game content (so much so that the size of the software, being a title early accessit is quite heavy, albeit non-invasive).
Dark Point Gamesfor what concern gameplaywanted to increase the dose of soulslike by inserting the fury barcomparable in use and characteristics to that of the magic of such and many Dark Souls. A practical example of the use of the Fury is represented by the unlockable ability that allows Achillesif he has one equipped, of throw your shield at your opponents. As in the Dark Soulsalso in this case the Fury it does not recharge itself, requiring the use of potions or rest from a sanctuary (equivalent of the bonfires present in Achilles: Legends Untold).
In addition to this great contribution to the variety and, consequently, to the challenge in the combat systemalready quite technical in itself although not overly complex to master, we also have a nice improvement in AI of enemiesNow able to give rise to those coordinated and combined attacks that Dark Point Games boasted when talking about their work.
There variety of enemies it is already too well fed: swordsmen with swift attacks, treacherous archers with a quick and accurate shot, ravenous fairs like wolves and lions And monstrosities such as animated skeletons and cyclopes with unstoppable blows. They are not missing Inspired, fun and never frustrating boss fights.
No news on the front of the fabled stories procedural dungeonswhich, for the moment represented by small cellars whose entrance is usually manned by enemies, have what seems to be a curious feature: they always seem to have already been completed and all identical once the first one is completed, which consists of a simple room with a Cyclops guarding a chest. May it be a game element yet to be filed or even still to be realized?
Even the eye and ears leave nothing to be desired, were it not for some frame rate dance
Well yes: despite the not having encountered major bugs such as crashes or input lagunfortunately there are some points in the game where the frame rate hiccups drastically. A phenomenon, this, that it also occurs in the midst of combateffectively interrupting the action and with it the reactivity of playing, with the result that often you can find yourself with the ‘You died‘on the screen through no fault of its own.
If saying that you have to use a pad to enjoy the experience to the fullest is superfluous, it is not to talk about the excellent contribution on the acting and sound side by Dark Point Gameswhich however he could have chosen a better voice actor for the protagonistwho it is decidedly not very expressive at a vocal level considering the psychological stature of the character he is called to interpret and the subtlety with which the dialogues are designed.
Still from the sound point of view we have some warlike and engaging music which, thanks to the setting, greatly echo the work of the composers duo The Flight for the soundtrack of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.