Today I got the opportunity to look at the pre-alpha (conceptual) build of a game currently on kickstarter called 'Animal Gods [Reborn]'. Its setting is Bronze Age England, focused around a female lead called 'Thistle'. It is important to the fantastical style of the game that it occurs in a period that is half remembered myth.

 

The mechanics of the game have been said to be reminiscent of 'Zelda' but at this early stage it is obviously not going to fulfill this grand promise. if it was going to be any Zelda game it is obviously drawing more inspiration from the original top down games such as 'A link to the past'. This inference becomes more solid when you hear the desire for the game to be an open world dungeon explorer. The latest ' link between worlds' most interesting feature was the fact you could tackle dungeons in a non linear fashion as all the equipment was available from the start. Thus exploration was encouraged rather than punished. I wonder if the designers have something similar in mind.

 

I am unsure if the game will be truly open world or a series of levels you can switch between. I say this because the map I have seen seems to show the location of 'beasts' as dots on the map, leaving me the feeling these are going to be instances rather than the more open Zelda games. I get this feeling also from the concept build, as it was a series of instances with objectives before the next scenario was loaded rather than a continuous dungeon. Of course the latter observation is entirely unjustified to have considering this is both pre-alpha and a tutorial.

 

The allowed me to explore two mechanics in a limited fashion, dash and sword. The prior was interesting as it made me feel that the game would have a lot of top down platforming however it is very bare bones at this point. The dash feels unwieldy as it a constant speed and doesn't feel like it has weight. This can obviously be improved in latter builds, It would be very beneficial to have a sense of velocity changing over time and to have the dash interact with enemies (I.e. push them backwards a bit so it feels like you aren't just clipping into them). Similarly, the sword mechanic has not yet been integrated with the dash. This is an issue that needs some looking at, because I foresee the possibility that if your options around enemies are limited by the fact the dash is so unwieldy and leaves you exposed to being mobbed then most players will devolve into standing still and only using the sword ability. Obviously, this will get repetitive.

 

The game seems to have an Interesting minimal aesthetic which works well for borders, effects and cutscenes. However, I would personally appreciate more detail in the character animations and floor tiles. This is because, at this point, it feels like the floor is just a floating rectangle rather than something grounded and it is difficult to orientate yourself. Of course, I would probably get used to it and learn to love it once I see some more variation (the demo is all in a mono-thematic dungeon).

 

I have no Idea what the story is about...perhaps something to do with ancient tribal gods. Get the sense it’s something to do with mystical beasts of our pagan past being trapped in these dungeons you are supposedly going to explore. There was the idea of the occult in the teaser trailer, so, going out on a limb, I would say you are freeing the 'deities' from the exploitation of some druids who have corrupted them (spoilers?).

 

Says it is going to be an RPG, but so far these elements have not been displayed. Apparently there will be a whole plethora of abilities that are upgradable, don't know how these upgrades will be devolved unto the player yet. I would say it’s quite important that they have a clear Idea whether they are truly open world (i.e. you can go to the last dungeon first) or if you need to build up progressively. I would say the prior Is a lofty ambition and I would salute them in attempting that, although I would think It is a bit too much for a small team to take on.

 

Actually, I think It is important to look at the team for a second. Because, if I was Investing, I would like to know how Peter Molyneuxesque their aspirations are. If they are an untested team formed in 2013 is it realistic to expect a highly polished open world RPG reminiscent of Zelda? I can’t for the life of me find any previous stuff from the person who really matters in this, the lead programmer Kara Myren. I would be worried about having so much resting on a single person, especially when the goal is to create a game which they have hyped so much, and which has over $20,000 invested in it on kickstarter. My 'Schafer' sense is tingling.