Dark Envoy is the CRPG for Dota fans
After being used to the tactical turn-based combat in Baldur’s Gate 3, it can get pretty hectic to lead your characters through a fight in Dark Envoy. Set in a world full of guns and sorcery, this CRPG features real-time battles instead of the laid back turn-based variety – a real change of pace, but by no means one that feels out of place. It’s a little bit like controlling several heroes from Dota at once, all with their unique quirks and abilities.
This might have been easier, had I chosen different classes for my starting characters. If I had taken a melee class and a ranged class, I could probably park my tank in front and micro with the ranged unit, but two of the ranged classes piqued my interest, so I had to kite with both of them simultaneously. It’s always helpful to use the pause or slow motion feature, which the game offers, but I didn’t want to look like a scrub in front of the developer watching me play at gamescom 2023.
Dark Envoy's visuals aren't outstanding in motion, but they get the job done.
Event Horizon
Dark Envoy’s combat has more uniqueness to offer than just the real-time mode: There is a full cover system akin to RTS games like Company of Heroes of Dawn of War in the game, which helps out your ranged characters tremendously and adds another tactical layer to battles. Even cooler is how some of the spells work – you essentially free hand-draw a, say, field of lightning or ice on the floor, where the effects will then show up, giving you immense tactical freedom on how to engage enemies. It’s a really awesome feature, allowing you to shape a battle in a very impactful and flexible way as the situation demands.
On other respects Dark Envoy looks like a very solid CRPG as well – cutscenes are voiced, the campaign, which can be played solo or in co-op mode, features an overland map you can use to reach new destinations, and the visual style is both charming and clear. You can immediately see what’s going on and reach accordingly. There is a full crafting and research system and the four classes offer several different specialization branches to customize your party with. In the best CRPG manner, all of your dialog choices will have consequences – both immediate and down the line – for you to deal with.
Dark Envoy is certainly on the same scale as Baldur’s Gate 3, but if you’re new to the genre after playing Larian Studios’ excellent offering and want to experience something different inside the same type of video game, then the Event Horizon title is an attractive option.
Dark Envoy will be out on October 24, 2023, on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. For more coverage from gamescom 2023, please check out videogames.si.com.
