The publisher PLAION (formerly Koch Media) joins forces with the Japanese studio Toylogic to launch a brand new free to play online competitive game which will soon be available through an open beta on PC. We had the opportunity to attend a presentation and chat with a few developers including Yoichi Take (director of Toy Logic) during Gamescom 2022. What to give you more details on the title.
A quick word about the Toylogic studio, which still has some experience in the industry. They are for example responsible for the remaster NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… and helped develop big Nintendo games such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Kid Icarus Uprising.
Warlander: big battles and multiple sieges
Bathed in a fairly classic medieval-fantasy universe, Warlander follows in the footsteps of competitive free-play games with a third-person view. The goal of the game will be to conquer the opponent’s castle and destroy his heart by passing through multiple sieges and skirmishes. Very largely inspired by MOBAs, Warlander wants to propose battles where a crowd of players clash.
This is howat launch we will be entitled to two game modes :
- A 40-player 20 vs 20 mode.
- And a 100 player mode with several armies at the same time (20 vs 20 vs 20vs 20 vs 20).
Mr. Yoichi Take also told us that they had analyzed everything in the middle (MOBA, Shooter, Battle Royale ect) and that they didn’t just want to create one of those, but rather have something original. which speaks to all player profiles. Warlander will thus have three unique classes :
- The warrior: very powerful in melee and with a high defense
- The religious: a jack-of-all-trades who will mainly play a support role
- The mage: a very powerful but also very vulnerable DPS
Thanks to these different classes, Toylogic wants to offer both hack’n slash or shoot sensations, without forgetting those who do not like these aspects by preferring a support role by taking control of ballistas or of catapults. We also asked the question whether there would be other classes in the future and we were told that this trinity will be the permanent basis for the moment since it offers a balance within the gameplay. However, we should have new maps and game modes after the official release.
How to customize your fighters
We also asked how the studio could manage a mode with so many players and different armies with these 100 player jousts. In this one (as in the 20 vs 20 mode as well), you are separated into squads of 4 players. Each squad will have its own role to play within its army : from the assault to destroy obstacles or even the defense of his own castle, but also squads which will have to travel on the map in order to recover certain very powerful bonuses which can sometimes reverse the game (and compared to Baron Nashor of League of Legends for example). However, we were told that an AI should ensure that this does not fall at the wrong time in order to keep games balanced.
Each army will have a commander who can give instructions on the map as the game progresses. In 100 player mode, it will even be possible to form alliances, however these may also break. Yoichi Take told us that there were hours and hours of testing for this mode to make it fun and easy to understand.
During each game, it will be possible to strengthen the characters by reaching thirds (ranging from 0 to 5) which will unlock new skills (including an ultimate attack) in addition to increasing your statistics. In this crowd of players, it will obviously be possible to customize your fighters with a rather complete creation tool for this kind of title. Next to that, there will obviously be cosmetics, dances and a Battle pass that can be acquired with real money, but nothing affecting the gameplay of the game.
We should see a lot more in the days to come, but overall Warlander is intriguing enough for us to take a closer look at it, especially since it seems to be quite graphically mastered. An open beta is scheduled for September 12 only on PC, but be aware that the title is also planned for consoles.