I’ve been wanting to replay this wonderful game, released in 2006, for a long time now. And finally, tenacious paws reached her. I suggest you remember what it was and how it was played.
Dark Messiah of Migth and Magic was created by order of Ubisoft, the guys from Arcane Studios, who are now well known for such excellent games as Dishonored and Prey. In addition, they are responsible for the recently released Deathloop. And someone might even remember Arx Fatalis.
Today’s subject of discussion is a fantasy action game with RPG elements from the first person. The events of the game develop in the well-known universe of Might and Magic, on which a bunch of games in the Might and Magic series itself and a whole pack of the Heroes of Might and Magic series of varying degrees of success were created.
As for the plot of the Dark Messiah, since I am not an expert in the lore of the Might and Magic universe, I will evaluate it only as an independent work. Moreover, in addition to Heroes of Might and Magic V, with subtitle Tribes of the East (which is a prequel to Messiah) I didn’t get to play. It’s probably worth filling this gap, especially since I like the fifth Heroes.
The main character Saref, on behalf of his mentor Fenrig, goes to his friend Menelag (who lives in Stonehelm) in order to deliver a newly acquired artifact. The mentor does not talk about specific goals. But, so that Saref doesn’t get bored, and also so that he doesn’t learn something unplanned, Fenrig gives him a very pretty partner, Zana, to add to his load. The girl takes up residence in Saref’s head, which clearly indicates her non-human origin, and cosplays as Cortana there, regularly commenting on what is happening and giving hints from time to time.
In parallel with the arrival of the main character in Stonehelm, the city is attacked by an army of necromancers. She is guided by her own goals, but they naturally intersect with the goals of Fenrig and Menelag. Further, everything goes awry, but in the future, it can go either according to the plans that Fenrig secretly pursued, or contrary to these plans. And in slightly different ways. Saref himself, at some point, suddenly turns out to be not an ordinary person at all, and so on and so forth. I don’t set myself the goal of retelling the plot beyond the beginning here, especially since perhaps these lines will be read by readers who are not familiar with the game, but are interested in it. In general, the game tells a fairly coherent, albeit banal, story, although in places it raises questions.
For example, why does Menelag keep his niece Lyanna with him, who clearly would not be delighted with his plans if she knew about them?? Why, apart from Fenrig and Menelag, do we not meet anyone from their vile gang?? Why do we never meet Fenrig after he sent Saref to Stonehelm to his accomplice Menelag? Is he really so sure that Zana will cope with the role assigned to her, to direct Saref on the wrong path?? Damn, he didn’t send him to the store for milk!
One of the main, if not the main feature of the Dark Messiah is the gameplay with numerous elements of interactivity. Various interior elements can be dropped on opponents. However, not any, but only those specially designed for such a purpose. Such interior elements, as a rule, are immediately noticeable by the flimsily attached supports or the ropes/chains that hold them. They are just asking to be brought down, killing a couple, or even a group of opponents. In addition, many environmental objects are also interactive. They can be picked up and thrown at enemies, which may not always be effective in terms of their destruction, but is often quite effective in order to knock them over and quickly finish them off before they come to their senses. You can also send an enemy to bask in a fire with a powerful kick, impale him on panels with spikes carefully placed by the developers, or with a wild cry of “This is Stonehelm.”. » send on a long flight into the abyss with which the world of Ashan (or Eshen) abounds.
By the way, kicking uses up a bar of stamina. So, kicking some goblin away from one end of the location to the other will not work. In addition to kicking, stamina is also consumed by running. This was apparently done in order to limit the player’s ability to actively kite enemies.
Naturally, the gameplay is not limited to https://rushbetcasino.co.uk/bonus/ throwing household utensils, barrels and stones at enemies, dropping poorly secured interior elements on them, or pushing them into deadly traps. There is a full-fledged combat system using melee weapons, bows and magic. By the way, in some aspects, this combat system migrated to Dishonored a few years later (we are talking about fights using melee weapons).
In terms of using melee weapons, the player has access to a normal attack, a powerful (prepared) attack from different directions, and a block. The block, by the way, is also directional – depending on which side the enemy is hitting from, you need to block in approximately the same direction. In practice, this focus is quite conditional, but you won’t be able to block with your back (like in Nioh). In addition, if you level up your stealth and use daggers, you can kill enemies by sneaking up on them from behind. If, in terms of weapons, you prefer a bow, then naturally you should keep your enemies at a distance.
There aren’t many different types of weapons here. In fact, it is divided into several types, within which only the characteristics and special properties of it differ. In total, we have access to swords, staves, daggers and bows. As you might guess, swords (paired with a shield) are for warriors without fear or reproach, eager to fight. Staves – on the contrary, for magicians who are frail in body but strong in spirit. Daggers – for those who prefer to silently eliminate enemies, hiding in the shadows. Well, with bows, I think everything is clear.
You can, of course, use any of the described types of weapons, but without upgrading the corresponding branch, only the most basic weapons of each type will be available for use. And in most cases, this is ineffective. To use cooler types of weapons of any class, you need to upgrade their corresponding skill trees.
However, there is one bow that you will use regardless of your chosen playstyle. This is a bow that allows you to shoot arrows, with ropes. With its help, you can climb to the most seemingly inaccessible places. Extremely useful thing. The only downside to this bow is that you can’t complete the game without it.
As for the rest, you can forget about weapons altogether, if you wish. After all, there is also magic in the game. There are not that many different types of spells here, but there are more than enough.
The first spell we are given immediately at the start of the game is “night vision”. It is used, as you might guess, for orientation in the dark and will be useful to our hero many times.
Another useful spell is telekinesis. With its help, you can attract interactive objects, including very heavy ones, from afar and throw them at enemies. Also, with its help you can pick up useful things from a distance or from hard-to-reach places.
The healing spell restores the hero’s health, and the shield temporarily surrounds him with a dome that absorbs damage, but significantly impairs visibility.
There are several fire spells: fire arrow, fire trap, classic fireball and inferno (flamethrower). Very good against enemies vulnerable to fire (like spiders), and generally very good. By the way, you can use them not directly, but indirectly – throw a jug of oil at the enemy, and then set it on fire. This combo is fatal for almost any opponent. The exception is bosses and mini-bosses.
Freeze, no matter how strange it may sound, freezes enemies! Frozen enemies can be smashed to smithereens, the main thing is to hurry up before they thaw. A less obvious use of this spell is to create an icy puddle under the enemy’s feet, on which he will inevitably slip. On narrow bridges and near cliffs, it can be very useful. Overall, if your favorite Mortal Kombat character is Sub-Zero, this is the spell for you!
Lightning – strikes enemies with electricity, which, in addition to direct damage, immobilizes them for a while. If you see one or more enemies standing nearby in the water, it will be more effective to launch lightning directly into the water and it will hit them all.
Enchantment – makes the selected enemy an ally for a while. After which you can admire how the adversaries exterminate each other. And if one of your friends is watching you play, you can even bet on your favorite!
And the last spell is weakening. It greatly weakens the target, after which finishing it off is not much of a problem. Moreover, if you use it during an adrenaline rush, the target will shrink in size and you can trample it like a cockroach. This feature was clearly inspired by Duke Nukem, where it was also possible to shrink enemies with a special gun and crush them.
In addition to weapons and spells, at some point Saref takes on a demonic form. In this form, he accelerates greatly and can tear opponents with his bare hands and tail. The feel of this form is very reminiscent of the “alien” from the film of the same name. Unless it doesn’t allow you to run along the walls and ceiling. Well, the blood does not become acidic. Having incarnated himself as a demon, Saref’s life force gradually begins to dry up. But killing enemies in demonic form restores our protagonist’s health. However, you should be careful with this in any case. After all, if you transform into a demon in front of your allies, they will begin to perceive him as an enemy.
It is worth noting that there is an adrenaline scale in the game. It fills up as battles take place. When it is filled, a characteristic visual effect appears on the screen and you can perform a finishing blow (not against all enemies). And some spells in this form receive additional properties.
Our opponents in the game (at least humanoids) can do approximately the same thing as the main character (not every individual opponent, but in aggregate). So, the game is for the most part fair to the player, putting him on approximately equal terms with his enemies. It is clear that one on one, most opponents do not pose any particular danger. Well, they mostly don’t attack alone.
By the way, about enemies. We will be opposed by the minions of the necromancer Arantir (guards and necromancer magicians), ghouls, zombies, goblins, orcs, spiders, some flying electro-jellyfish and liches. Naturally, there were bosses too. The latter can conditionally include the cyclops and sub-dragons Pao-Kai. But besides them, there is also a duel with the orc leader Aratrog (quite difficult if you fight honestly), the spider queen – a huge spider and the final boss – the necromancer Arantir, who, in the second phase of the duel with him, summons a bone dragon to his aid. In general, there could be more types of enemies.