Dark Envoy, an upcoming online co-op RPG has found a publisher: Asmondee Digital. The game is being developed by Event Horizon, developers of Tower of Time.

Dark Envoy is a Real-Time Co-Op RPG from the Developers of Tower of Time

Announced back in 2019, Event Horizon Games has been working hard on their newest CRPG, Dark Envoy. Their previous title, Tower of Time, was self-published. For their latest project, however, the developers have teamed up with publisher Asmodee Digital.

This publisher is well-known for publishing video game versions of popular tabletop games, such as Gloomhaven, Ticket to Ride, and Splendor.

So, what is this new title exactly? Let’s dive in!

All About Dark Envoy

Dark Envoy is an upcoming tactical RPG that focuses on the journey of two siblings, Malakai and Kaela. The pair are refugees that must survive the everyday struggles. They go about exploring tombs and ruins in search of riches and glory.

The game takes place in Jäan, a fictional world that is hanging on the balance of magic and technology. Humanity in this game is still quite young and has been the underdog compared to the older races, the Orcs and Elves. However, due to their hubris, humanity has united under a common banner in order to find its true place in the world.

Now, the older races have been driven off their lands by humans similar to what has happened in The Witcher.

Through An Open World, We Go!

Dark Envoy features a non-linear narrative, as the land of Jäan is going to be a semi-open world design. Players can choose to pursue only specific questlines or ignore side activities entirely. The world is their oyster and filled with many choices on what to do, which factions to join, or who to go to war with.

Players will be given access to their vessel, the Skyship to cover larger stretches of Jäan. The land will be split up into 15 different kinds of environments which all promise to have unique gameplay mechanics. Perhaps this means that snowy areas will have some effects on the party, compared to more comfortable plains or towns?

Be warned, however, as time passes in-game. The longer you travel the world, the more it changes and evolves. Things may eventually become too difficult for your group.

Fighting with a Friend

Another feature that Dark Envoy has is that it will be fully playable in either solo or online co-op with a partner. One player can choose to play as Malakai, and the other as Kaela. They will be able to adventure together, gather loot, and just explore the whole game as a group.

Dark Envoy will also feature companions, much like any successful CRPG. It isn’t clear though how many characters you can add to your party or how they’ll be controlled in co-op mode. The companions described so far are few: “a Moon-Elf assassin, quirky engineer, ex-Imperial soldier, renowned Elven mercenary”. Hopefully, we get to know more about these characters very soon.

Combat and Everything in Between

Real-Time with Pause

Dark Envoy features real-time combat, much like the older Baldur’s Gate games or even Dragon Age. Interestingly, players will be able to choose if they pause the game or just slow it down to a crawl in order to make tactical decisions. Dark Envoy also promises to not make use of RNG, like XCOM. Players’ tactical prowess will be the key to victory.

The party will need to scope out the landscape and make the best use of their terrain. Manoeuvring through the battlefield and proper positioning will be of utmost importance. Perhaps you can lead some enemies through chokepoints, only for you to block off their escape with a rock wall spell. Not every location is safe, however, as there will be some instances of destructible terrain.

Talk About Class

Four base classes will be available to all players: the formidable Warrior, agile Ranger, cunning Engineer, or the magical Adept. Each of them has their basic class abilities, but can also eventually specialize in one of four advanced classes.

For example, the warrior can become a tanky Guardian, a stealthy Assassin, or the icy support Praetor. Rangers will have access to the Chaos Walker, who basically use their life force to deal massive amounts of damage. Engineers can specialize in the Constructor subclass, which can overwhelm enemies with tiny robots.

Specializing in an advanced class won’t be as simple as selecting one from a menu. Some of these are quite rare, and can only be unlocked by finding the instructions in hidden locations or being trained after completing specific side quests.

Players will also be able to mix and match abilities from the different skill trees, ensuring that you can fully create a playstyle that you can call your own.

Dark Envoy Release

The game is planned to be released sometime this 2022, but no specific date range has been identified. The price is also yet to be determined. It will be available on Steam, GoG, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

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