Sometimes, the best part of this job is finding a new game to check out, even if it’s not due for release for some time.
Today, Covenant appeared on my desk, recommended by a colleague, and it very much looks up my street.
Covenant is coming to us from some epic developers who worked on Halo and Destiny.
They pitched it as Halo meets Skyrim, mostly because it’s made by some of the folks who worked on Halo (and Destiny) and the grim fantasy setting just screams Skyrim.
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Covenant seems to be a first-person, melee combat adventure with plenty of RPG elements sprinkled in for good measure.
Branded on the game’s Steam page as an “FPS Soulslike”, it’s inserting itself into some big genre shoes.
Taking place in a Metroidvania-style world, this fantasy setting looks to be as dark and difficult as they come.
But that’s okay, because you can play the whole thing in co-op, so whether you’re struggling against a boss, or a gnarly section, you could rope in a friend to help out.
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It’s rare to get a first-person melee combat game - the ones we have often stood out for being unique.
This puts me in mind of one of my favourite games - Mirror’s Edge - though of course that neon futurism doesn’t match this vibe.
However, there’s a nice difficulty level in working in that perspective that brings a fresh take on combat, particularly in the Soulslike genre.
I get the feeling that this will be simple to pick up but tricky to master as there are several fighting stances and a large variety of weapons to work with.
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Let’s hope the world building is as deep as the battles, because the glimpses of the world we’ve got so far look appealing.
Everything is very grandiose and foreboding, leaning into more of a grimdark idea of fantasy.
No release date is set at the moment, but this is one to keep an eye on.