Hunted: The Demon's Forge Previews

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Written by BuckGB on May 7th, 2010

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Once again, inXile president Matt Findley and creative director Michael "Maxx" Kaufman take control of elfish bow-lady E'lara and brutish melee guy Caddoc through a section of the game. Kaufman still keeps a tight lip on actual story details, and sticks to a generic, "both of them are on a job to make money, and things go wrong" description. Early on in the demo, the pair acquire an artifact called the Deathstone. It grants the handy ability to talk to the dead, which will prove useful for obtaining items or clues for puzzles. That almost makes up for the fact that grabbing this Deathstone causes the sky to turn dark and all the dead to rise as animated skeletons.

Both of them get into a combat arena with a minor puzzle element. The skeletons keep rising up even after getting bashed and arrowed repeatedly, and that probably has to do with the giant glowing columns that continually send energy (or skeleton mojo) to the fallen-and-now-rising skeletons. It doesn't take too much to figure out that E'lara has to shoot down a ramp to grant access to a nearby ballista, and for one of the players to use said ballista to knock down those columns.

Along with slaying revived skeletons and collecting ever improving weapons the two characters come across a series of puzzles that also require teamwork. This might entail using Allura's fire arrows to ignite a series of torches while Katic takes care of grunt work like pushing large stones into place. There are environmental obstacles like these that block the progression of the main quest, but there are also more difficult "deathstone" puzzles scattered throughout the world. The two heroes use deathstones to converse with the dead who will provide audio and visual clues to push players towards the game's toughest challenges. The deathstones also lead to the biggest rewards and if you'd rather stick to the action, they can be skipped entirely.

Weaponry isn't your only reward; there is also a crystal economy that allows characters to upgrade their moves. For example, eventually Katic unlocks a ground-pound that shoots surrounding enemies into the air where Allura can pick them off with her bow. And when you jump into a friend's game, you're still rewarded with all of the crystals you collect there to spend as you please. But what if you have no friends? We've been assured that the game works just as well when the AI takes over the role of the second player. And just to make sure you don't get stuck as Allura and Katic players can swap bodies at the numerous check points found throughout the single, and co-op game.

The two companions have access to spells and can help each other by battle charging the other to imbue him or her with magic. Working together also has its advantages, as E'lara can use her ice bow and freeze enemies while Caddoc can destroy them with a single swipe of his mace. On the flip side, Caddoc can use levitation with his sword and suspend enemies in the air, allowing E'lara a chance at target practice. The pair will banter on and off to give you a sense of their relationship, which was described as "a brother-sister relationship with sexual tension but not incestuous." Their chitchat will also give you an idea of what to do next. If you find an area where you'll need Caddoc's strength to get through, E'lara will make it known that she needs his help to continue, and vice versa. Using the death stone, you can learn more about your environment through the voices of the deceased. In our demo, one spirit told us about an axe of a fallen king that was hidden somewhere nearby. We were given some vague instructions, as well as a riddle, but that was enough to get us to wander off the main path in search of a better weapon for Caddoc. There will be puzzles to solve as you continue to explore the interesting environments, ranging from a cluttered battlefield to an underground cavern. The areas looked fairly large, but we were told that the paths can be narrow, so even if you do break off and wander away from each other, chances are you'll easily find one another again. In one area, a key was lighting the braziers in a particular order with E'lara's fire arrows, and in the next underground dungeon, it was a matter of finding the right switch to clear a path. At any point, you can listen to the dead spirit's voice again, in case you've lost track of what you were supposed to do.

It's a fantasy game, so it was always going to have to sacrifice a certain level of immersion in favour of spectacle, but at this early stage, Hunted seems intent on keepin' it real. Both characters feel indubitably grounded, each step crunching solidly into the dirt, lending a kind of weight and realism to movement and combat.

Unfortunately this results in a notably stolid pace; even at a sprint, playing as the generically lithe female, the animations remind me of nothing so much as a waddling rhinoceros. Deadly yes... graceful not so much and irritating for those of us with short attention spans. While this ponderous meter suits melee combat, forcing you to use cover strategically and watch for openings rather than just button bash and hope for the best, it proves more than a little frustrating while using ranged attacks.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the demo was spent in a dark tunnel, lit only by a handful of torches. E'lara's flaming arrows, when shot down corridors, lighted the path and revealed hidden braziers the player could ignite. It was an intimidating series of stumbling in the dark, with more skeletons and giant beasts popping out of walls.

Here, we also saw some of Hunted: The Demon's Forge cooperative puzzles that required Caddoc's strength to complete. The player was tasked with pushing a switch, keeping it held, while E'lara crossed a trap-laden bridge to light a fire. As one might expect, the preoccupied Caddoc was of little help when yet another batch of bony demons went after our heroes.

Hunted can be played alone, in which case an AI companion will wait for player cues (such as looking directly at a key object) to offer assistance, but it's really meant for two, and every attempt has been made to ease players into co-op. You can bring your character to someone else's game, or play with theirs, and either way you'll be rewarded with Crystals (skill points), and, either way, your character's progression will remain under your control. Plus, at each check point, you and your partner the option to switch characters, in case you're tired of E'lara's arrows or Caddoc's swords.

The setting is of the well-recognized fantasy/dungeon fare, but as mentioned, it's (back to the basics.) There's no fluff, just twisting passageways full of monsters, riddles, secrets, and new weapons to discover. The puzzles aren't anything out of the ordinary find a switch, shoot objects in a certain order. that kind of thing. What makes Hunted extra-special is its environments (what's a Dungeon Crawler without great dungeons?), and especially their lighting and effects. When a candle-lit cavern became momentarily over-saturated by a magic lightning explosion, the effect was stunning. Also notable were the heart-stopping (whoosh) sounds of arrows whipping past the character's heads and embedding in walls.

The story of Hunted is mostly told by way of witty batter between protagonists Caddoc and E'lara (think Nathan Drake and Chloe from Uncharted ... on steroids), with buxom E'lara being the impulsive "touch everything" type, while the musclebound Caddoc is a lot more cautious. While both characters have ranged and melee attacks, you'll quickly realize that E'lara is best when taking shots with her bow, while Caddoc excels at swinging sword, mace, or axe up close and personal. For instance, in one area Caddoc will fend off nearby enemies, while E'lara jumps into a massive, mounted siege weapon to fell some magical pillars.

You'll also be constantly searching out new weapons in the form of loot: better bows for E'lara, and different melee weapons for Caddoc. You'll also need to pick up enemy shield from time to time, as your own takes damage and will eventually disintegrate. Each character also has special abilities, like E'lara's ability to fire lighted arrows, a skill that comes in handy when trying to navigate a pitch black dungeon. Both characters can heal themselves via magical vials, or toss one to a buddy when they're down they heal on contact. You can also use magic to buff your ally, allowing them to attack with more force for a brief time.

As well as body-swap checkpoints you will also come across Deathstone events. These act as a way of progressing the storyline and revealing information but they also offer hints, which if followed, will guide you toward secret areas containing new weapons and special abilities. These are completely optional events but you can still stumble across the rewards even if you don't access them. In this instance the Deathstone event lead to a gigantic axe. If you do listen to the Deathstone events but can't work out the riddles within, the dialogue will be stored in a journal so you can reference back if you ever get stuck.

Whilst fighting and puzzles feature heavily within the game, the RPG element is also present throughout. Along your way you will find crystals and currency which you can then exchange for new magic and new skills.

As with other dungeon crawlers, exploration is another focal point of Hunted. Players can split up and discover new areas and optional quests that often hide new and more powerful equipment. In the demo Caddoc learned of a powerful ax that was sealed away by a series of unlit braziers. Once he found the area, a series of well-placed arrows lit the torches and a hidden walkway opened up. If that puzzle was any indication, they aren't likely to drive many players online for solutions, but they could be a fun way to break up the action.

Our adventurers next explored a network of dark tunnels, filled with crank puzzles and waterlogged passageways. Players have to work together to survive their way through the claustrophobic maze, though they will split up on occasion to solve some of the tasks. The demo ended with a glimpse of a towering spider boss, though it ended before any blood was drawn.

Two giant gargoyles high on either side of a clearing are summoning skeletal warriors. The skeletons are fairly easily dispatched, but they keep coming, and a tougher armoured variant starts hammering our heroes from an inaccessible ballista. Caddoc gives Elara a "battle charge" of lightning magic, enhancing her shots enough to take care of the bombardier; he then needs to keep the skeletons off her back while she shoots ropes to bring down a walkway that grants access to the ballista, which can then be used to destroy the gargoyles and stem the undead flood.

Kaufman and Findley talk a little to co-ordinate the scrap - Caddoc needs to be revived from death at one point, which can be done by lobbing a potion from range according to inXile's "co-op at a distance" mantra. But Caddoc and Elara are quite chatty too, with vocal cues ("Elara, shoot the ropes to bring down that walkway!") clearly directing the adventurers to the next stage of the fight.

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