Archangel Studios’ Bleak Faith: Forsaken is an open-world Soulsborne-style game that looks to take its scale to an entirely new level. Players control The Forsaken, a traveler who has made their way to The Omnistructure. While on this journey, the Forsaken will encounter many enemies ranging in size, shape and ability as they attempt to find meaning in the dark, post-apocalyptic world.
Off the bat, it is clear to see that Bleak Faith has no intention of being just a copy of Dark Souls but perhaps its natural evolution. With new mechanics and freedoms afforded to the players, the game attempts to bring new-found diversity to the genre instead of rehashing overused ideas. But what is being added to this game that could improve the genre so much?
Stealth and Climbing Mechanics
A common complaint with the genre is the prevalent lack of stealth and climbing mechanics. In Dark Souls, players cannot so much as climb a waist-high wall, so utilizing a climbing system akin to Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will open up a verticality never before seen in this genre. Tying climbing with functioning stealth mechanics results in an entirely new playstyle emerging. Players are free to pick off enemies from up close or make use of heights and create their own plan of attack against the world’s monsters.
These small changes create drastic implications for the future of the genre. The age-old formula will finally be subject to some flexibility, classes will have new meaning and there will be new weight to player choices when leveling up. With the addition of these mechanics comes a plethora of new gameplay opportunities through environmental challenges and enemy design. In a trailer, viewers can see an enormous worm-like creature that the character leaps onto and climbs up. This mechanic experiments with height, flexible level design and an increased scope of combat overall. It is something that games like Dragon’s Dogma and Shadow of the Colossus have proven to be very effective when conveying scale to players.
Open World
The Souls series has mastered effectively presenting the contrasting scale of the player character in comparison to the world around them. Taking one sweeping look at the vast mountainscapes of Anor Londo or the extensive cities of the Kingdom of Lothric, players know that they are but a small part of a larger world and it’s something of a shame players don’t get to see much of that world. While they are staggering through the small hallways, tunnels and boss rooms, the claustrophobic environment is disjunct from the expansive scenery just viewed.
In a true open-world game, players will be allowed to explore and discover everything organically. Although there is nothing wrong with the sense of panic that walking from intense fight to intense fight brings, offering players choice is the key. Bleak Faith could offer sundry locations and environments that coexist, offering unique secrets and experiences in contrast to obligatory levels and benign frustrations.
Overall, the most attractive prospect of Bleak Faith: Forsaken is the ability to experience the stunning, dark fantasy world that the players inhabit in more intimate and varied ways. Through its revised takes on exploration or encounters, there is a chance that Bleak Faith could redefine the genre as we know it.
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