Another isometric RPG based on the hit tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons is set to come out this Tuesday – and it’s been quite a while since the last one.
After being pushed back from an original release date of September 8th, I have high hopes for this newest addition to the Dungeons and Dragons canon, Sword Coast Legends – now set to come out October 20th.
But it has big shoes to fill.
Dungeons and Dragons has a legacy older than many of its players, myself included, and part of that legacy is nestled in making some of the best video games to grace the RPG genre.
From games that put BioWare on the map like Neverwinter Nights and Baldur’s Gate to the universally-acclaimed Planescape: Torment, Dungeons and Dragons has a track record of classic video games that are tough to compete with.
The last video game based on Dungeons and Dragons that came out was the not-so-successful action RPG Daggerdale, which had more to do with the tabletop game in name than spirit.
If we want to look back for a game in a similar vein to what Sword Coast Legends aspires to be, with its pause-based combat and isometric design, we would have to go back eight years in time, all the way to 2007, when we received Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer.
Now, years later, it’s time to scratch that RPG itch that I’m sure so many of you are feeling. While the game was developed by n-Space, a relatively unheard of group, the creators of the single player campaign should be familiar: they helped with the production of the campaign of Dragon Age: Origins.
And while a lot of the features this game offers are par-for-the-course in the genre, one facet has everyone intrigued: Dungeon Master mode, allowing for multiple players to pit their characters against player-created, dynamic dungeons, during which the “Dungeon Master” will throw obstacles in the players’ way.
There are some very involved walkthroughs on YouTube that can show you just how extensive Dungeon Master mode can be, but even the shorter looks at the mode are exciting, showing how players will be able to challenge their friends, much like a normal Dungeon Master would at the tabletop.
The question, of course, is whether or not this is a game that will deliver. Right now? All signs point to yes. I’m going to be grabbing my twenty-sided die next week and buckling down for what I hope is some classic Dungeons and Dragons action.
You can pre-order the game on Steam now, or wait for its release this Tuesday.
