Hunted: The Demon’s Forge Previews

We haven’t exactly seen a tide of previews on InXile’s upcoming action RPG Hunted: The Demon’s Forge so far, but here’s a few more coming straight from E3. GamerNode.

“Co-op at a distance” is a design philosophy the team has focused on, and it comes into play in a variety of ways. Gears-age players have grown accustomed to running over to their fallen comrades to help them get back into the game, or to be close when administering health boosts or buffs, but Hunted throws that idea out the window and gives players the ability to hurl healing potions and battle-charge spells at their partners from across the arena, thus keeping them within each other’s reach even when split up. The game also provides natural opportunities for long-range cooperative gameplay with things like stationary ballistas, E’lara’s ice arrows, and Caddoc’s very entertaining shield-bash rush attack.

SideQuesting.

In one section of the demo I tried, I needed to use a giant crossbow to knock down magic-spewing towers while my partner obliterated the undead warriors that attacked us. The crossbow was operated by an enemy that could only be defeated once the archer’s arrows were charged by the warrior’s magic.

This seems like an interesting mechanic, but I wondered how the game would play with only an AI partner that didn’t know to charge weapons or take on specific tasks. The developer on staff assured me that the AI partner would be intelligent enough to be helpful instead of hamper situations, and that it was easy to switch characters if needed at several locations throughout each level.

Video Games Daily.

The demo opened on an almost Silent-Hill-esque note, lingering over the tattered spectacle of the town itself, with its flapping awnings and gutted households, but when Creative Director Michael (Maxx) Kaufmann seized the controller the afore-hinted parallels took centre-stage or off-centre-stage, as the game’s camera would have it. While the weapons on offer are thoroughly old skool (bows, blades and magic) Hunted’s basic mechanics are those of a more contemporary breed of action title: lock-to-cover, precision aim and rapid fire.

Digital Chumps just has some quick notes.

Other mana based abilities include various attacks for each character. The female can use ice arrows to freeze enemies, giving the male warrior a one strike kill. Mana is replenished by hitting these vibrant blue spores that release mana when struck.