Free-to-play darkish fantasy motion RPG Dark December from developer Wants Video games has formally launched on PC, Android, and iOS with crossplay and cross-progression. It marks a return to the world of Undecember, this time with extra streamlined gameplay constructed round three core character courses.
In the event you’re not already accustomed to the sequence or want a little bit refresher, Undecember was a quarter-view hack-and-slash sport with no courses. It launched a world created by 12 beings who shared their powers and introduced peace and prosperity to the land. In time, they got here to be worshipped as gods. However then a thirteenth being arose, who launched evil to the world and corrupted mankind.
Dark December brings you again to that world, however a few years earlier than the occasions of Undecember and in an alternate timeline. The digicam can now be moved freely, and it additionally marks a departure from the advanced development programs of its predecessor, as a substitute focusing on timing, ability use, and streamlined development in three character courses: Berserker, Raven, and Morgana. The system is designed to be extra approachable, so gamers new to the sequence can really feel comfy leaping into this prequel with out lacking something.
Berserker is your basic melee-based bodily attacker that makes use of a two-handed greatsword to unleash highly effective strikes. It has very excessive HP and protection, so it’s meant to hurry headlong into enemy hordes and take out giant teams with its heavy strikes. Their distinctive potential sends them right into a berserk state, which accelerates their assaults and makes them able to allotting huge injury in a short time.
Raven is an archer class that may use a number of completely different arrow sorts to make the most of enemy weaknesses. It’s fast and agile, so it’s designed to always keep on the transfer whereas holding enemies at arms’ size and choosing them off with exact strikes. The place Berserker is supposed to take in injury, Raven is supposed to keep away from it altogether.
That leaves Morgana, a spellcasting class that wields a employees and can summon spirits. It makes use of the employees to unleash poison and hearth spells, whereas summons are infused with elemental power and can be utilized for a wide range of issues. Some deal injury matching its elemental kind, whereas others apply debuffs. So Morgana is all about technique and versatility, combining their talents to ship regular, steady injury.
As you’d count on, every of those courses unlock distinctive expertise as they stage up, and these might be additional powered up by ability upgrades and the Help Rune system. Every ability has two Help Rune slots, the place you may equip Help Runes that present every kind of various bonuses. Every ability additionally has its personal kind and attribute, and Help Runes can solely be outfitted in slots which can be suitable with that kind and attribute.
Offensive runes present bonuses like growing injury, crit price, or increasing AoE vary. Defensive runes can do issues like shielding you or lowering injury. And utility runes can improve standing results, scale back cooldowns, or enhance ability utilization depend. These are only a few examples of every kind, there are a lot extra choices to select from. And you’ll freely swap out Help Runes at any time, providing you with the possibility to check out a lot of completely different builds or change issues up strategically for explicit fights or conditions.
Whereas development has been simplified and fight has been streamlined, that doesn’t imply it’s simple. It’s not about memorizing one potential loop you may merely use over and over to decimate every thing. That you must study what works in what conditions, adapt to new issues being thrown at you, and use your talents on the proper time.
The central narrative of Dark December will take you thru a number of completely different areas, and a waypoint system means that you can teleport between these areas shortly in addition to return to a central hub space. There are additionally different gameplay modes you may play if you wish to take a break from the primary story.
The Abyss of Chaos is a dungeon that means that you can select what area it’s primarily based on, which alters its stage and the rewards you may get from it. It additionally homes a randomly occurring occasion known as the Realm of Chaos, which spawns highly effective bosses that drop uncommon supplies and sources.
The Corridor of Oblivion is a problem mode the place you may select the issue stage and battle bosses from world wide. And Dimensional Rift: Veles is a protection mode the place you and as much as three different gamers can group as much as see how lengthy you may survive in opposition to neverending waves of enemies.
The monetization system is usually centered on beauty gadgets similar to costumes and wings, and the sport is designed so gamers who select to not spend cash are usually not at an obstacle. Some stat-increasing gadgets are additionally accessible by various routes, similar to crafting or acquiring them straight by gameplay. This strategy is meant to let gamers preferring to not spend nonetheless benefit from the sport with out feeling pressured to pay.
Dark December is accessible to obtain now on PC, Android, and iOS. To maintain up with the newest information and data, you may observe the sport on Discord, YouTube, or TikTok.