If you found yourself in a fantasy setting, filled with knights, monsters, and kingdoms, what would you do? Would you join the great noble crusade of saving the kingdom? Perhaps the force of darkness and usurping peace are more interesting to you? Did Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of The Caribbean inspire you to be the jester that pulls the strings on both sides? Project Witchstone may be for you. From Spearhead Games, the guys behind Omensight and Stories: Path of Destinies comes a new type of fantasy RPG where players can do anything they wish. This is Project Witchstone, an incredibly ambitious fantasy RPG that seems to take the established rules of fantasy games and substitute them for something invigorating.
Project Witchstone presents itself as a lively, active world, where players will be placed right in the middle of a fantasy kingdom, rich in life. There are friends and then there are enemies. There are allies and then there are foes. The trick is there is none. You can do whatever you want, as you please. It’s up to you to follow the campaign, and up to you to pledge allegiance to whomever you want. Good and evil are a matter of perspectives, and in Project Witchstone, it’s up to you who you want to be allied with. Through missions, quests, and various turn-based battles, the world around the player will literally change. The entire landscape and people will change according to every choice you make, both on and off the battlefield. The methods of what you want to accomplish are entirely in your hands. Players can blackmail and trick others into false stories. Players can negotiate, challenge, or outright assassinate a leader. Players can simply ignore all conflict and spend the life of a treasure hunter. What players decided is entirely in their hands.
Having played Project Witchstone at PAX EAST, the game is shaping to be quite an amazing fantasy RPG, which is sorely needed into today’s gaming space. At PAX EAST this past April, my time with the game was short and it was in a very early build, but the foundation of what was presented looked incredibly promising. Most fantasy epic follows a path and a linear narrative, but Project Witchstone looks to be different. Having played Stories: Path of Destinies and last year’s Omensight, the team at Spearhead games has done a remarkable job at changing the way stories and narratives are told I expect Project Witchstone to bring us new ways to experiencing stories.
Project Witchstone will be available for hands-on play at PAX WEST and will be slated for launch in 2020 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. A Nintendo Switch version isn’t confirmed but may be possible.
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