Techland's Hellraid looks like Dead Island meets Oblivion - here's your first (brief) look
Dead Island dev's latest evokes fantasy gaming's '90s heyday.
Techland's first new IP since the Dead Island series looks to recapture the magic of '90s PC gaming, evoking classics such as Quake, Hexen, Diablo and Heretic in its four player co-operative hack n'slash that's wrapped up in a dark fantasy setting.
"We want you to feel that the game is made by guys in their '30s," Hellraid producer Marcin Kruczkiewicz told our colleagues at Eurogamer Poland. "You can't forget about the past. As young enthusiasts we enjoyed the first Quake, second Hexen or Diablo, and all that remains in us somewhere."
Hellraid offers up a selection of four classes, Warrior, Mage, Paladin and Rogue, and encourages them to work alongside each other as they fight through hordes of enemies. There are interlocking abilities - wizard can cast shields on allied players, or teleport around, and the combat system is built upon a series of magical abilities that include fire, telekinesis and lightening.
The open-world structure of Dead Island has been pared back slightly, with a series of open-ended maps rather than one all-encompassing world. Hellraid also offers a stripped-back leveling system, with experience points unlocking branches on each character's skill tree.
It's being developed on Techland's own Chrome Engine 5, which the Polish developer believes can go toe-to-toe with its competition.
"This is a tool that can easily compete with other solutions on the market," said Kruczkiewicz. "You can do literally everything: levels, enemies, save points, objects, music and weather. We used the same engine for Dead Island, so basically it's a fully functional tool and it works well."
Hellraid is without a publisher, a situation which Techland's currently assessing. "We're financing the entire production ourselves, so we don't need any external funds and a publisher, said marketing director Pawel Kopinski. "On the other hand, at some stage we'll be talking with publishers, distributors, and we'll see who will propose a partnership that won't impact Hellraid in a negative way. We just have an idea that we want to sell with no external interference."
There's currently no word on a release date, though Techland's looking to get it out this year on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC - the only platforms announced "for now."