Fatekeeper: Preview of the spiritual successor to Dark Messiah of Might & Magic

Thirteen people are enough to ignite the spirits and imagination of those who, twenty (exact) years ago, played that small masterpiece that bears the name Dark Messiah of Might & Magic. Rightly so, since many loved Ubisoft's game, had fun, and still have it strongly imprinted in their minds, no one thought of giving it a worthy sequel. Paraglacial had already shown a truly impressive gameplay video some time ago, also given the small number of the development team, but now that early access has started and I've played it, I can tell you what I think.

The physics we like

A side note: it's curious that physics, even if it belongs to a time when graphics engines were simpler (and, if we want, a bit distressing), Fatekeeper tries to be a bit sandbox, with that feeling of pleasantness and exploration, but also a lot of naivety in level design, and now I'll tell you why.

Fatekeeper is not an open world; the roads, corridors, buildings, and dungeons in general are well-defined, but this is not a problem. On the contrary, there's a desire for exploration, to understand, to fight, but the way to do it, at the moment, is a bit sui generis. While the level design doesn't guide you at all, and sometimes even seems to mock you – where on earth will that gate open? how do I proceed? – it also invites you to advance, to understand, to study every nook and cranny, every place (which is beautiful to look at, by the way) that can hide secrets, power-ups, and interesting loot.

This formula has flaws that I highlight, but also the will to push the player to analyze the situation. Combat makes very good use of hit physics, even if it's often not precise, quite the opposite, and playing the "Spartans" who kick an enemy into a pit gives a certain feeling of warlike pleasure. It's not just for "brutes" and heavy weapons, but also for mages who want to try their hand at powerful arcane effects emanating from their hands.

Power-ups via perks are not lacking, but all of this, as much as we've touched upon it, lasts too little to even form an opinion that is more than superficial. Does it work? Absolutely, but in a couple of hours, knowing what to do, it can be completed, even less, while the most curious can double or slightly extend the duration of the experience. In reality, we expect many new contents to arrive, but it must be said that for the ticket price, currently set at about ten euros, there is some concern about what we should expect, but the premises are for a product that is already very fun.