Satan Your Curiosity About Techland's Hellraid
Over the course of my many years as a game-enjoying human fleshcreature, I've been on many adventures that could be described as hell raids. I cannot, however, claim to have experienced the Hellraid - which might also be some kind of lava-themed rollercoaster/water slide/burrito. But now, with Dead Island and Call of Juarez developer Techland claiming hell and the raiding thereof as its professional purview, that's all about to change. And by change, I of course mean "bear a rather strong resemblance to either devil-thwacking Dead Island or first-person Diablo." Here's hoping for more latter and less former. Details after the break.
In short, Hellraid's a first-person hack 'n' slash that rewards both cooperation and a little friendly, no-hard-feelings backstabbery. Either one represents a viable pathway to precious, precious loot, but be prepared to bash, smash, mash, crash, dash, splash, gnash, and gash everything in your pashth regardless. Oh, and slash, I guess. "Our combat system is also far more advanced than simple repetitive clicking as it needs precision and good timing when striking enemies and parrying their attacks while the blood splashes all around – that’s why we use the term slasher," Techland wrote on Hellraid's website.
The game's overall structure, however, probably won't leave you feeling too terribly homesick for, say, Diablo's ashen pastures.
"The armies of Hell brought pain and destruction to the realm of man, and only a select few have the fighting skills necessary to confront the devilish monstrosities. Combining elements of hack & slash RPGs, first-person shooters and online multiplayer games, Hellraid features an advanced, immersive combat system with melee, ranged and magical weapons. The engaging Game Master system makes each game a different experience, placing loot and enemies while generating random online challenges."
Aaaaaaaaaand breathe. There's also an entirely separate single-player mode, so I doubt we'll see any always online shenanigans. It has a story and boss fights and crafting and presumably hell and raids (note: neither of these have actually been confirmed), too! Top analysts speculate that it might even be a videogame.
Honestly though, there's always been promise in the idea of first-person Diablo. We just need someone to get it right. Step one: probably don't set it in Neo-Future-Ultra-Janky-Technosuit London. Step two: repeat step one until game is good. Step three: stop getting game development advice from some guy on the Internet.
Hellraid will be out sometime this year.