Wanted more RTS from Blizzcon? A Year Of Rain lands on early access today
Just the two of us
Those of you parched for a friendly fantasy strategy game might click with A Year Of Rain. Daedalic Entertainment’s co-operative RTS wants you to hold hands with another player at all times. The Blizzard-ish battler for two is out today on early access.
It's a resource gathering, base-building, magic tossing sort of game. You get to pick from damage, tank, or support from one of the three factions and then have at it. They really want you to play as a pair in this. The campaign is so co-operative that the tutorial can be played with a friend. The multiplayer matches are 2v2, and the bosses you meet require a tandem assault to defeat. There's an AI helper should you come up short of having even one friend who also owns the game.
We sent esports expert Jay Castello to see the game in March, who found some neat little twists in the 2v2 skirmishes. She said:
"Boss fights, for example, need both people, and can be further complicated by the opposing team, who could use this advantage to launch a sneak attack, or even kill-steal the final hit on the boss, so it’ll always need to be a calculated offense."
The hope is that the game can be a burgeoning esport. It's launching with replays, stats, and an observer mode, so they've put some foundations down for that already. Now they just need a vast community and some cosplayers and they're all good.
It's out later today on early access.