As I continue to work through my list of demos to play ahead of Steam Next Fest on October 13th, another game I would like to tell you about is Ember & Blade, a survivors-like that injects some pace into the genre.
In the demo I played through the first zone three times, and spent a bit of time poking around my home base. The new demo also includes the game’s second act. Across both worlds I was instantly pleased by the distinctive feel and overall atmosphere – it feels very much like its own thing, despite borrowing more than a few ideas.
Playing as a demon hunter, you’ve been recruited to smash some monsters. From your palatial home base you must level up your gear, craft new weapons, and develop your conversations with the NPCs. Then you jump into a lift with a magic cat and then head off into battle, where you can try out your newest tricks.
The first thing that struck me was the rapid pacing of the gameplay. Ember & Blade is quite a bit faster than your typical survivors-like, but the idea is the same: you’ve got to kite around huge swarms and time your attacks to thin the crowd. Here, however, you’ve got a bit more control over where your attacks are heading.
The levels have a muted colour scheme that I quite liked. In fact, the audio visual design is quite important here, and this a bit more stylish than your typical auto-shooter. There’s voice acting, detailed graphics, and the world building feels cohesive (at this early stage).
The enemies are pure fantasy creatures, with skeletons and trolls and other strange beasts. What’s more, the bosses are quite varied, too. I got to the first boss battle three times and each time it was a different enemy encounter. I like that.
I also like how abstract your special powers are. Everything is on a timer and so you’ll spend a lot of time waiting for your favourite abilities to ready up. Once unleashed, the screen fills up with spectacular visuals, and depending on which weapon you have equipped, your ultimate will change, too.
It’s early days but Ember & Blade is already shaping up to be a little bit different, but in a good way. This is a game that is trying to bring some new ideas and a fresh sense of style to a well worn genre. Based on my initial impressions, I am going to enjoy sitting down with a more fulsome build in the months ahead.
The Steam Next Fest demo for Ember & Blade is available now! Now, check out the new trailer below!
