Mirage: Arcane Warfare spells out closed beta plans

The swords and spells of Mirage: Arcane Warfare [official site] will be swingable and castable in a closed beta starting March 27, available to all pre-order peons. In case you didn’t know (you fool) it’s pitched as Chivalry with magicians. The same developers of the medieval stab-em-up have added splurts of colour and silliness to their sword-fighting mechanics to make a multiplayer combat game where not only do you need to guard incoming mace blows, you also need to watch out for spells.

The closed test will be around in a “long-term format”, in other words it will be playable nearly up until the point of its release later this year. Here’s what Torn Banner are throwing at you in the beta, like a brick to the head.

Six playable character classes ranging from the ghostly Vypress assassin to the hulking Taurant, all with customizable magic ability loadouts and hundreds of voice emotes

First reveal of new character, the Entropist - a jolly, portly mage imbued with terrifying, often hilarious powers who rides a flying carpet and wields a magic staff

10+ maps available throughout the Beta period, each playable in multiple game modes including Team Objective, Point Capture, Capture-the-Flag and more

We’ve seen lots of footage and demonstrations of the fighty spellcasting, including feats of strength and grumpiness from the Vigilist class and nasty dual-wielding swordplay from the Vypress class among others. But none of us have had a go yet, so it’s hard to know how it feels. And in any melee-focused slicer, that’s what really matters. With any luck, we’ll let you know. You'll be able to pre-order yourself on March 27 for $29.99 and access to the beta. But don't do that, you muppet.