As someone who adores the Dark Souls series I’ve got a real passion for dark fantasy worlds, more so than generic fantasy settings.
That said, games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are exemplary titles that I can’t help but adore.
I think that’s why The Relic: First Guardian has caught my eye, as while it might be too early to tell what I’ve seen so far looks fantastic, and replicates the vibes that made me enamoured with Dark Souls and The Witcher.
The game’s description is as follows: “In this action RPG, you embark on a heroic adventure to save the world.
“The once-prosperous Arsiltus was swallowed up by the void created by the destruction of the great relic and transformed into a land of death. Now your mission is to find the pieces of the broken great relic and close the void.
“Grow your character with various skills, solve the riddle of Arsiltus, and lead the world back to prosperity.
“You are the last hope of the Arsiltus.”
Described as having a semi-open world, players will take on mighty bosses and solve complex puzzles to progress, taking on the soulslike approach of using runes to strengthen your character.
Like one of FromSoftware’s games, you get to choose the form of your enemy’s destruction with different weapon classes, mastering them to overcome any obstacle.
What I like most about The Relic: First Guardian so far is the visuals.
Take a look at some of the gameplay footage featured on its Steam page to see what I mean.
Not only do the arenas and boss designs look fantastic but the battle effects look good without taking up too much of the screen, or overwhelming the player’s vision with particles and unnecessary flashes. You can focus on the fight whilst still enjoying the spectacle which is the mark of a truly solid RPG.
Of course I need to hold back my full judgement till I’ve played the game, and for now I’ve got no idea of when that’ll be.
No release date has been named yet but rest assured I’ll be adding it to my Steam wishlist and keeping an eye out for an update.
I’m excited to learn more about this world and see how it holds up against titans in the genre like Dark Souls and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
