If, like me, you’ve put a bunch of time into Hades, then I think you’re going to feel at home with 13Z pretty quickly. The new third-person action-roguelite is being developed by Mixed Realms, drawing on Chinese mythology instead of the chthonic gods. It challenges you to channel your inner animal spirit and then tackle a bunch of dangerous trials so you can take your rightful place as the 13th Zodiac.
If you have played a bunch of roguelites, including Hades, then the following will sound familiar. 13Z has you battle your way through a series of combat trials that, in this instance, take place on floating islands in the sky. At first, death is a big part of the gameplay loop, and you’ll need the resources you gather during each failed attempt to make permanent upgrades in the starting village. These include home improvements and character upgrades so, generally speaking, the more you play the stronger you become.
Yet for all the Hades inspiration, which is clear to see and manifests in a variety of ways, it was a different game that came to mind as I was trying out the new Global Playtest for 13Z. Yes, there are upgrades to choose from and yes, there’s progression to navigate, but as I was juggling a mushroom-shaped foe in the air, hitting it with attack after attack before dashing straight into the next, I started to think about Devil May Cry.
Classically trained action
Movement in 13Z is really fluid and I was able to dart around each arena with ease while playing with the introductory character, Lyra the Fox. I was impressed by how intuitive the traversal is, and that’s both in and out of combat. The controls already feel good, and the devs are promising more ways to interact with the world around you.
13Z will have six playable animal spirits with which to tackle the trials. I mentioned my fox-like friend, but we’re also going to be able to “soar through the skies as a Raven” and “embrace the earth-shaking might of the Panda” – with three more still to be revealed. I’ve only played as Lyra, but watching gameplay footage reveals very different movesets.
Juggling is an important part of the combat, that much was clear. Get stuck in and time your secondary attack just right and you will send your enemy into the air and open them up for follow-up attacks. Once in the air, you can follow them up while you hit them some more before using your dash to engage the next enemy. Hitboxes are quite generous, too, so you can keep those combos going for longer, and the sword I had equipped meant each consecutive blow was more powerful than the one before.
Lyra also rocks a special attack on a cooldown timer, so every 30 seconds or so you can inflict a flurry of blows on multiple enemies without risk of taking damage. This was often a great way of punctuating a combat encounter, where I’d dashed this way and that, landed a few blows, and then rounded things off with a devastating special attack.
Roguelite progression
I got the impression that I was just scratching the surface of the combat system. As you advance between floating islands, you’re given the opportunity to upgrade and enhance your powers. For example, you might equip an ability that rains down ethereal blades from the sky once you’ve hit your secondary attack downward, or flaming orbs might follow you around and damage your opponents.
There are different upgrades available for primary, secondary, and special attacks, as well as ways to upgrade your dash and dodge. As you improve your various abilities, you become more powerful. Then you must do your thing on the battlefield, utilising your new-found strength to get further, along the way grabbing up gold for in-game enhancements and jade for updating the starting village later.
Speaking of which, as you jump into the starting village you’re able to visit a sacred tree that doubles as the main hub for your meta-progression. There are pages and pages of potential unlocks to work through; some add new features into the world generation for you to encounter mid-run, while others are direct enhancements that are applied across all so-called Challengers.
What’s next for 13Z?
It looks like there’s going to be a lot of game here for people to work through, and on top of the many unlocks there are also simple side quests available from villagers. There’s also a spot where you can swap characters and make upgrades. It all seems interconnected and well thought out, but pacing is key and I’ve not yet played enough to know how it will feel once everything is up and running.
The demo reveals the style of the game and its intent, however there’s still a long way to go with more playable characters to reveal, plus new biomes, bosses and mechanics to integrate. We’re being promised more of everything, basically. There’s also co-op on the way, for up to four players – I look forward to trying that and seeing how the challenge scales up.
13Z is an ambitious project and I’ve only seen a small slice of what it is going to have when it’s content complete. That said, I’ve been impressed by what I’ve encountered during this first playtest, and I’ll definitely be back to take another look once more trials have been added.
