With the next-generation of consoles on the horizon, many fans are hoping to see plenty of innovation from developers thanks to the new hardware inside of the new machines. Naturally, core franchises like Call of Duty, Halo, and others will remain a staple throughout this newest generation, though the door has opened for smaller studios to flex their creativity as well. NeocoreGames is attempting to do just that with its newest title, King Arthur: Knight’s Tale, coming to PC as well as PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2021.
According to the announcement, King Arthur: Knight’s Tale is a tactical RPG which combines the XCOM style turn-based combat system with more traditional RPG mechanics including character progression, upgrades, and choices that will ultimately change the direction of the campaign. In this game, King Arthur has gone missing and players step into the shoes of Sir Mordred who is tasked with locating him. The twist here is that Mordred is actually Arthur's nemesis, originally wounding the King and tasked with hunting him down by The Lady of the Lake to finish him off.
Sir Mordred isn't alone in this task as players will command Neocore's version of The Round Table. Unlike most other depictions of this heroic group, the studio has made them a mirror version, darker and more evil than before. Players will have access to 30 of these knights, each one with its own progression system and can also be permanently killed off from battle, disease, or curses. There will be five different class types from traditional knights to spell-casting damage dealers.
In addition to XCOM style combat, the battlefields are locations that have been rendered using photoscanned environments and a physics-based engine. Traps and lures will also be available for players to work with and enemies that really tap into the dark fantasy setting the game is based in. Neocore has promised seven different enemy factions that occupy the world with over fifty different enemy unit types. Finally, players will be based out of Camelot, which means they can upgrade and expand it. Decisions made will also have consequences in the world with a Morality Chart showing how your decisions have changed things.
The announcement comes alongside a dedicated Kickstarter campaign for the game. The title has a goal of raising $149,997, a modest amount of money compared to some of the other game related projects that have launched on a crowd-funded site like Kickstarter. However, unlike those other titles, NeocoreGames has confirmed that regardless if the game meets the funding goal, the game will still be released. The funding from Kickstarter is aimed to support additional features that the studio would like to implement, not the core game itself.
While there's still a little bit of a wait before the game's expected launch early in 2021, fans will be able to go hands on with it much sooner than expected as Neocore announced that a beta is planned for November exclusively on Steam.
The Hungry-based studio has been busy in its 15 years as an independent company. Neocore Games got their start working on the RPG tactics inspired King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame series. However, fans are likely familiar with the studio's past work on franchises like The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, which took inspiration from the Diablo series which its isometric camera angles and action RPG elements. Recently, the studio was also responsible for the action game Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr, launching in 2018 for current gen systems and the PC.
King Arthur: Knight’s Tale launches Q1 2021 for Steam with the PS5 and XBox Series X/S to follow after.
Source: Kickstarter