Successful attacks will release Eclipse orbs, which can be absorbed to intensify spells or follow up attacks. Combat is a key part of the game, with turn-based fighting requiring players to time pressing buttons with on-screen animations to power up their strikes.
Valere and Zale will also be able to travel to any part of the map they can see, swimming across bodies of water or scaling rock faces to accomplish their goals. Along the way, they'll sail between islands in a vessel that acts like a mobile base, and will gather four other party members, each with their own environmental abilities. These are things like runes that glow in the dark or hunting creatures only out in the daytime. Aside from enhancing their strikes with the power of the moon or sun, both characters have control over day and night cycles, allowing them to change the light source in the sky to solve puzzles. Players take on the role of either Valere, a moon girl trained to be a monk, or Zale, a sun boy trained to be a blade dancer. The only people known to stop these monsters are wielders of Eclipse Magic, which can be performed by Children of the Solstice, or people that are born on the Summer and Winter Solstice. The various islands of this world are plagued by a creature known as the Fleshmancer, an alchemist that creates abominations and crazed beasts before setting them on the land to wreak havoc. The game's a prequel to 2018's The Messenger, and is set hundreds of thousands of years before the action of that title.
I'm excited for players to experience the curious and cryptic story for themselves, but for now, I can confidently say I can't wait to uncover the mysteries of the deep and the origins of the falconeers.Parents need to know that Sea of Stars is an upcoming role-playing game for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PCs. Additional ambient details like whales bursting from the waves, groups of fishing splashing and bouncing from the water, and even strange creatures flying through the sky, add a lovely sense of character to The Falconeer. The nautical comparisons are a bit more obvious, but even the way this game handles landmarks can be compared to Rare's swash-buckling sandbox game.ĭynamic weather and day/night cycles make this world feel vibrant and alive. Not to keep recycling game comparisons, but many of my favorite aspects of the environment design from Sea of Thieves can be found in The Falconeer. To avoid spoilers, we won't be touching on key story-related details in this preview, but I did want to spend some time talking about how genuinely captivating this world is. Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)
There's definitely an initial learning curve to understanding these forces of nature, but once these elements click movement becomes so much more satisfying than simply flying another aircraft. These unique gameplay mechanics really helped create an engaging and immersive experience. There are also small air swirls that form just above the waves that assist in launching you airborne, in addition to powerful wind tunnels that will give you maximum speed.īeing aware of these useful aids is crucial to maintaining speed and mobility on your bird.
Dramatic aerial dives are your easiest trick for gaining speed and momentum as you make your way across these sprawling ocean landscapes. The mobility in this game is tied heavily to gravity and mother nature. Birds, especially falcons, are strong, graceful creatures, but when compared to a F18 or others warplanes, they're significantly slower. While a majority of modern flight-focused games feature machines like futuristic space crafts or traditional planes, The Falconeer taps in to a more primitive form of transportation in some really interesting ways. Source: Wired Productions (Image credit: Source: Wired Productions)