After playing games for forty years, it amazes me that some games still manage to catch my eye with a new kind of technology or approach to a specific genre. Alaloth – Champion of the Four Kingdoms is that game for me, and I’ve been captivated by its blend of the the RPG and action genres.
Developed by Gamera Interactive and Published by All In! Games, Alaloth – Champion of the Four Kingdoms is set to reinvigorate the fantasy arena of RPG’s. Albert Belli, CEO of Gamera, commented on the game and their partnership with All In!
“Alaloth is Gamera Interactive’s flagship project and partnering with such a great partner and respected publisher as All in! Games will be invaluable to its success. They loved the game right from the very first pitch at GamesCom. All in! Games really respects our vision and, along the way, they will be able to provide the resources we didn’t have access to, turning Alaloth into a bigger and better game.”
It’s immediately evident upon first glance that Alaloth is looking to bring back the old school feel of exploration based RPG’s. The camera angle is reminiscent of the Divinity: Original Sin series, and avid players will notice something very different in the game’s story/gameplay trailer – the combat. Typically in top-down games such as Alaloth, the combat becomes very routine and mundane as the game tends to focus on story and exploration rather than combat. Gamera did not want to go that route, and decided to motion capture every single combat animation for the game. The combat is fluid and seamless as you can see below, bringing a much more immersive feel to the game.
In addition, Gamera has brought on Chris Avellone as a consultant for Alaloth’s development as well. Avellone is a former employee of Obsidian and a writer of the Fallout Series, Pillars of Eternity, Prey, Baldur’s Gate, Jedi: Fallen Order and the aforementioned Divinity: Original Sin II. If you notice the detail in the environments, that’s because there is a little something different about them. Each one is hand drawn by an artist, not CGI.
When you add in this blend of genres, motion captured combat, hand-drawn animations to a “Souls-like” game in an isometric style format, you set yourself up for a pretty great experience. Winner of multiple awards already, Alaloth – Champions of the Four Kingdoms is set to release on PC and Xbox One in 2020.
Keep an eye on this one – remember I told ya’ so.
