[h1][i]“Run away from the river to the street
And find yourself with your face in the gutter”[/i]
~Green Day[/h1]
Back in 2005, a small team called WildTangent released a tiny little Diablo clone called FATE. The guys already tested their skills in some simpler games and, the most importantly, they knew their limits. They didn't even try making yet another one of those big “Diablo killers” everybody on the market was obsessed with. Instead, they focused on a much more compact experience, threw in some unique ideas (like pets and fishing), and voilà! They got themselves a hit. A niche one, sure, but still, FATE used to be installed on, like, every second laptop out there. Why am I telling you that? Well, because WOLCEN Studio (and yes, the guys literally called themselves after their very first project) was nothing like that.
What can I say? There's always gonna be this kind of people. Always. Young devs who, despite not making a single game before in their entire lives (neither of the key figures here had even the slightest role in a video game project before), think they can compete with the big guys. Because clearly, those just didn't have the right ideas. While our guys “clearly” do. What did our guys envision? Well, they wanted an epic saga on an AAA engine, with tons of cutscenes, spectacular views, and tons of things the other popular games are known for. You know how when you ask a kid about what they'll add to their game if they'll ever be able to make one? They just keep listing things they liked in the games they played, saying “and then, and then...” without knowing where to stop. Inexperienced devs? They can be like that too. Usually, there are publishers to say “no”. But guess what? Our guys were too cool for a publisher. They are radical indies (freedom, freedom!~)! So straight to Kickstarter they went.
You can actually stop reading here. WOLCEN is yet another one of those Kickstarter games. Kickstarter > Steam Early Access > Abandonment. It's the same old formula again. We've seen it for countless times. The only thing that changes is the excuses. According to our guys, “...we’ve encountered foundational hurdles that prevent further improvements under the existing framework.” That's it. No more support. But OK, despite being abandoned, the game's still on sale, so... *SIGH* Let's take a look.
Like I said, the people behind this game simply didn't know where to stop. And while dreaming big, they never really asked themselves “How?”. It was like with that popular meme. “–Who are we?!”, “–Game developers!!!” “–What do we want?!” “–A spectacular ARPG on an AAA engine with tons of the advanced features!!!” “–How are we going to achieve that?!” “–We have no bloody clue!!!”. The engine is a nice proof of that. They chose CryEngine. Even got featured by Crytek in their showcase. I mean, clearly, an FPS-oriented engine is a perfect choice for an ARPG title, right? [i]Right?[/i] Well, see the above. It shows exactly how our guys were thinking. They wanted their game to be spectacular. They didn't even try thinking about all the “buts”.
Actually, you know what? It's a funny story. I keep saying that this game looks spectacular and it does in a way, but it also... doesn't? I mean, nothing here has a face. And when it does? You wish it didn't. Most of the time the game looks like a generic dark something with nothing special to remember, while when the design actually does have some interesting elements, those are downright stolen from random media. Like, the soldiers here combine the design taken from both the Warhammer [i]and[/i] MARVEL's Spider-man. Like, what the heck? Ah, and of course, the enemies are a downright Diablo rip-off. You can't come up with your own juicy baddie, just go steal from BLIZZARD. Who already stole from Games Workshop a lot back in the day. Jaysus...
Anyway, back to our game. It's that part when we talk 'bout the gameplay, right? God, give me strength... Unlike WildTangent, WOLCEN Studio wanted everything. Everything the others had and more. The only thing that used to show some moderation was the multiplayer. Which was surprisingly old-school (no store, no seasons, etc., just four players reviving each other). The rest of the stuff? It was just stolen ideas over stolen ideas over stolen ideas (they even stole the bloody pets I mentioned, which feel totally out of place here). And while some of those things are quite universal (like potions from Path of Exile) and some others are actually fit quite well (like the “fight for your life” mechanic from Borderlands), nothing here really works. Even that “fight for your life” thing is feeling so cheap that it's cringey (remember good ol' Sacred 2? That's the stuff).
If something, his game's giving me one heck of a cognitive dissonance. Things here [i]look[/i] expensive (well, not [i]expensive[/i] expensive, but you know what I mean), but they feel like something from those crappy games that utilize an engine's basic assets in order to sell you a scam. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that WOLCEN is a scam. Exactly the opposite, you can see that our dudes did try here. Which... only makes things more sad. If you ever played a properly balanced ARPG, like Diablo II for example, you know how much a tiny little skill alteration can mean. Now, our guys? They went all “Scottish”. Remember that famous Robin Williams' skit about golf? “F*ck croquet! I put the hole hundreds of yards away!”. That's what we've got here with the skill wheel. Yes. The. Skill. [i]Wheel[/i]. It's exactly like in Grim Dawn, except you can [i]rotate[/i] parts in order to make things even more complicated. The result? Yeah, good luck with that sh*t.
And while during the early parts of the game it won't be much of a problem (there's even a so-called story mode for those who just want to see the ending, even though honestly, you won't want that cringey How to Train Your Dragon crap in your life), the final chapter? Well, it's like a whole new game. With some crazy difficulty spikes. Long story short, the big baddie is coming. And you need to prepare. All of a sudden, you're not just walking forward, killing everything on your way; you're in The Elder Scrolls: Blades now. Restoring the town. Because yes, our guys suddenly decided they wanted [i]that[/i] too. And, of course, since things are non-linear now, it only adds to the imbalance. But don't worry! There's a big chance you won't need to force yourself through that. Because the game just loves soft-locking itself at the beginning of that chapter. See? Even the game itself doesn't want you to play it.
To be completely honest, though, I did like the idea. Dunno why they've decided to make only one chapter that way, but there's certainly something in it. But fighting with clunky mechanics, a lack of balance, game-breaking bugs, and other stuff just for that? I mean, come on. Are we [i]that[/i] desperate? And yes, there's more. Like, there's that crafting (ish) system that revolves around the consumables and re-rolls, but why? [i]Why[/i] would anyone want to waste their time on it, while everything else in this game is so ridiculously unbalanced and buggy? Heck, up to this day there are still infinite damage exploits that weren't fixed (and, most likely, never will be, since, like I said at the very beginning, the game is completely abandoned now)!
No matter how you look at it, the only thing this game's good for is to serve as an example. An example of how [i]not[/i] to make games. So, if you're a young developer who's sitting there, thinking about starting to make your own ARPG? Look at the original FATE. Then look at WOLCEN. You'll instantly get why knowing your limits is so important. Not like dreaming big is bad. But one does not wake up one day and say “I'm gonna change the world today!”. Good things require experience. A lesson that WOLCEN Studio learned the hard way. Don't be like them. Learn from other people's mistakes instead. Dixi.
