Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms
| Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms | |||
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| Studio |
 Games Farm sro
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| Publisher |
 bitComposer Games
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
20th November 2014 | ||
| platform | Windows | ||
| genre | Action RPG | ||
| Subject | Fantasy | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Keyboard & mouse , game controller | ||
| medium | Download , DVD-ROM | ||
| language | English, German, Polish (subtitles) | ||
| Age rating |
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Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is an action role-playing game by the Slovak developer Games Farm and the German publisher bitComposer Games , as well as the successor to Kult: Heretic Kingdoms . Unlike classic genre representatives, Shadows relies on a multi-layered story, a clear amount of loot and a new type of party system. Part one of the two-part game was released on November 20, 2014 for Windows PCs and contains the first three of a total of six chapters. The second part is planned for spring 2015. The division into two parts became necessary in order to be able to keep the planned release date.
prehistory
Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms picks up where Kult: Heretic Kingdoms leaves off. The Godslayer sword was destroyed and the last connection between the gods and the world of mortals was broken. This can open a rift between Dreamworld and a dimension of Hell through which monsters and demons flow. Dreamworld then becomes the Shadow Realm. These demons include the soul-devouring Devourer. Even incapable of entering the world of mortals, however, they are able to take possession of the bodies of the entwined souls and thus also to move in the known world. This fate befell four members of the Penta Nera League. Only the former high priest Krenze could escape and did not fall victim to the devourers. The remaining four roam the Heretic Kingdoms territory, devastating everything that stands in their way.
During a ritual of the Penta Nera, under the desert town of Thole, a magician sneaks up. This uses the remaining energy to summon a Devourer who should help him to stop the Penta Nera, which is infested by the Devourers. However, this soul eater differs from its conspecifics. He has the ability to take in more than just a soul. So it has more possibilities than its fellow species - but this unique ability also has its downside. Every further soul that he incorporates makes him more human and more schizophrenic. At the beginning the devourer has to choose between three possible main characters:
- Kalig, "King of the Bandits", a character designed for close combat
- Jasker, "The Wild Boar," a ranged fighter
- Evia, "Daughter of Fire", a fire wizard
On the way out of the catacombs, the Devourer meets Carissa Cantrecht. In the fight against her it turns out that her soul already belongs to another devourer, who, however, manages to escape. You and Krenze want to use the Devourer to destroy the "Crucible of Souls" from which the Penta Nera get their power.
Characters
The player can choose from 15 characters for his group. The Devourer and one of the three main characters are always an integral part of this group. You can control up to four characters. At the beginning, the player controls the Devourer - a soul-devouring demon. Due to his ability to take in the souls of deceased people, the group expands to up to four characters. An interesting effect is that the absorbed souls react and communicate with one another. If two souls meet who are already deadly enemies during their lifetime, an argument is inevitable. Only one of the four characters can be active at any given time; the player can freely switch between them at any time and e.g. E.g. escape a fight by jumping into the shadowy world.
Devourer
The Devourer are a race of demons that live inside Shadows. They are found on the border between the hell dimension, which the magicians call "Shattered Heaven", and the shadow world. Devourers feed on the soul essence that arises when the soul of a deceased passes into the Dreamworld. However, the Devourer also have the ability not only to consume this essence, but also to absorb the soul of the deceased and control it like a doll. If the devourer receives such a soul, he merges with it and forms a new being, with the memories and personality of the deceased and the power and instincts of the devourer.
In Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms , the player takes control of a devourer. Thanks to the plans of a desperate magician, however, he was called without a pact and is therefore able to take in more than just one soul and manifest each of these souls as a puppet. However, each soul that it absorbs mixes personality and memories in a collective psyche. Hence, the devourer becomes a being on the verge of madness.
Kalig
Kalig was known in Thole as the "King of the Bandits". He was the leader of the Guild of Steel, Thole's most influential guild. They specialized in robbery, violence and blackmail. Kalig was particularly noticeable for his strength. Nobody could harm him so quickly, especially not in battle. But even his strength could not save him from his fate.
He was betrayed and murdered by his own son, Nemek. Kalig left the mortal world and left a soul eaten away by thoughts of revenge and the dark desire to regain his mercenary guild.
Kalig died a year ago.
Jasker
Jasker was a brigand in the time of the theocracy and was called "The Wild Boar". He allied with the Lord Protector of Corwenth to overthrow the corrupt regime and free Corwenth. Despite trying to tie the new hero with the gift of his own noble house in Kyallisar, Jasker turned away from Corwenth's politics. Instead, he traded in undead slaves and supplied the Sundered Shields mines with mindless labor.
After a wild romance, Jasker married the "Huntress of the Wastes," Falon, who was raised by the terrible ogre mercenaries of the Sura clans. Jasker and Falon had a son, but the relationship broke up and Falon went back to the Surah Wastes.
During the Ascension Wars, Jasker served his homeland Corwenth one last time. Although he was formally captain, he was subordinate to Captain Darius - perhaps because the generals were already aware of Jasker's disobedience. Jasker fell in the war - but his strategies led Corwenth to victory.
Jasker died 14 years ago.
Evia
Evia, known as the "Daughter of Fire", was the daughter of the last God-Empress of the Garulian Empire a few hundred years ago. She was trained as a magician by the best teachers in the entire Heretic Kingdom. As the oldest princess of the Garluian Empire, she received the legacy of her royal ancestry: the art of fire magic. But Evia also mastered the mystical enchantments of sand magic from the distant deserts of the east. Only a few people are granted this.
Evia rebelled against her mother and fought for the fall of the empire. So it came about that she joined the fabulous group of heroes and went to the Reliquary Crusade with Taryn Arkor. Together they set out to steal the Godslayer sword and thus rob the God-Empress of her symbolic power. But when they reached the shrine, Taryn took the sword and turned it on his companions. Taryn became a feared theocrat and ruled the Heretic Kingdoms from then on. Evia lost her life, but no one knows how.
Evia died 325 years ago.
reception
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Overall, Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms receives mostly positive reviews from the trade press.
Hooked Gamers praised the character system under the interaction of the characters with each other, but criticized the immature and empty spirit world. Spieletipps particularly praises the group dynamics and the shadowy world, but criticizes the technical implementation that is a bit tricky in places. 4Players emphasized the tactical component of changing characters as well as the jump into the shadowy world and the story, but criticized the technical implementation as well as the sometimes wasted atmosphere. Gamers.de presented the platinum award and was particularly impressed by the story, the character change and the independence compared to other genre representatives. GameStar was much more critical. Above all, she criticized the combat system and the lack of “addiction spiral” on the hunt for new items.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Preview: Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms 4Players.de, July 15, 2014, accessed on August 7, 2014
- ↑ Shadow's release strategy published July 31, 2014, accessed on August 25, 2014
- ↑ Devourer shadows-game.com/de; Retrieved August 25, 2014
- ↑ Kalig shadows-game.com/de; Retrieved August 25, 2014
- ↑ Jasker shadows-game.com/de; Retrieved August 25, 2014
- ↑ Evia shadows-game.com/de; Retrieved August 25, 2014
- ↑ a b Review on 4players.de ; Retrieved November 28, 2014
- ↑ a b Review on gamers.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Retrieved November 28, 2014
- ↑ a b Review on Gamestar.de ; Retrieved November 28, 2014
- ↑ a b Review on HookedGamers.com
- ↑ a b Review on Spieletipps.de ; Retrieved November 28, 2014
