A solid, if forgettable take on the ARPG aesthetic
TRULY, Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem is gaming’s prime example of a ‘mixed bag’. So egregious an offender in variety of quality that this reviewer was unable to actually finish playing the game, despite Wolcen having some genuine merits. Unfortunately, the bugged boss fights make actually completing the game nigh-on impossible.
Wolcen is a hack-and-slash adventure that draws inspiration almost exclusively from two of its peers - to the point where it shamelessly approaches flat-out plagiarism on numerous occasions. Nevertheless, there is a certain amount of individual charm and innovation that somewhat mitigates the eye-rolling appropriation, though fans of the venerable Diablo series or the modern classic Path of Exile might say otherwise.
Though it clearly wears its influences on its sleeves, Wolcen does differ from the status quo in one important criteria - classes. Wolcen offers no fixed classes, allowing you to craft your own from a combination of gear, active and passive skills.
Much like Path of Exile, the labyrinthine passive skill tree can be equal parts daunting and alluring. Within a scant few levels, you can fundamentally change how your character works, setting Wolcen apart from its peers in that regard. The skill three is also comprised of three rings that can be rotated indipendently of each other, introducing a satisfying layer of mechanical action to the skill tree.
While the combat is genuinely well thought-out, bringing both thoughtfulness and satisfaction to the fore, all of the developer’s hard work is utterly undermined by the presence of an unusual amount of game-breaking bugs and glitches. Dungeon entrances not working, inventories freezing, characters vanishing or getting stuck in floors, characters being launched out of boss areas and into supposedly inaccessible areas are all regular and impossible frustrating occurences.
While the developers will very likely roll out patches that fix the majority of these issues, the damage done to the game’s launch reputation will likely be irredeemable.
As far as the art and environmental style goes, Wolcen is a solid, if forgettable take on the ARPG aesthetic. Some of the set pieces are genuinely beautiful and impart a brilliant sense of scale, but in all honestly, it isn’t something we haven’t seen before.