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A Walk On The Dark Side

Thorondor

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Think you can get away with murder? Even if you doubt yourself, there's no question in the minds of those who are out to hunt you that you're gonna get what's coming to you. Better make tracks, fast, and make your tactical cunning count wherever and with whomever you end up with in Daedalic Entertainment's Blackguards.

 

What it's about:

 

 

 

(...) suspenseful storytelling and unique characters with gripping tactical battles in elaborately crafted 3D-environments. In a taxing campaign, the player takes part in a dark story full of doubt, betrayal and loss.

 

 

Through this wild chase throughout the South of Aventuria, the world of The Dark Eye, there is more to fight than vicious creatures. Chapter by chapter you'll encounter a story full of intrigue and surprising twists. Time and time again, the moral compass of the player will be tested. One does not beat Blackguards without getting their hands dirty. But when life and death are in the player's hands, how far will they go to reach their goals?

 

 

Over 180 individually crafted battle maps full of interactive objects and strategically complex situations expose the player to exotic locations and put them through deadly trials.

 

 

 

To gain some further insight into what's being pursued with this title a good starting point might be the recent interview with producer Kai Fiebig and creative leads Martin Wilkes and Florian Pett at Strategy Informer.

 

 

The game is approximately halfway done and the developers are doggedly giving chase to their mark - a release by the end of this year.

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Thorondor Colonel

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https://www.blackguards.de/wpimages/wp7a9b37e0_05_06.jpg

 

Want to have a say in the development of Blackguards?

 

You may have a shot at it given we've heard Daedalic is actively seeking beta testers at present.

 

Naturally, openings are restricted to a given number, so if you're interested be quick to send a mail over to betatest@daedalic.de, mentioning why you'd like to be one of the selected participants and what your gaming experience is.

 

::

 

The closed beta test runs from September 04th until October 02nd, 2013, participants need to be at least 16 years of age. Participants will also see their name appearing in the creadits of the final game.
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https://www.daedalic.de/images/screenshots/ScreenShotAmazon01_en.jpg

 

Daedalic Entertainment comes clean about Blackguards' sinister main characters:

 

As descendant of a wealthy Neethanian family of merchants, the game's main character has lived a boring and carefree life with his friends. He spent his childhood with a couple of guys, including princess Elanor.

 

The game starts with the player witnessing Elanor's brutal death: A wild and cruel, strange looking wolf attacks her and literally chops her alive. Although players will try to interfere and save Elanor, they will be far too late to safe Elanor's life...

 

Players manage to defeat the beast – however, there’s no help for Elanor.

 

Only minutes after the battle, players will find themselves surrounded by guardsmen, arresting the player's character. In prison, players learn that they're being held responsible for the murder – because actually no one else saw a wolf near Elanor. No matter how hard the guards torture the player, though, there’s nothing else they can find out.

 

The player's hero is sentenced to death, and this would have been it, almost. Shortly before his execution, though, dwarf Naurim frees him/her. Naurim spent years in prison, has been arrested for arson, assault and smuggling. He has been planning a prison break for a long time, and feels he's finding a good accomplice in the player's character to actually put his plans in practice.

 

Naruim is a typical dwarf: hot tempered and with huge anger management issues. He's also paranoid, restless, and even often dreaming (which is pretty strange for a dwarf), and sees conspiracy virtually everywhere. Perhaps it is his paranoia that makes him a fearless warrior, and therefore a perfect tank. Not just when brawling in taverns.

 

Naurim turns into the second member of the players' party of up to five playable characters at a time.

 

On the run, Naurim isn't the only supportive figure. There is also mage Zurbaran, for example – who will later become the third playable character. Since his birth, Zurbaran was a slave for a wealthy grandee of the Florios family. When his master found out about his magical skills, he was sent to the Academy of Al'Anfa. All his master intended was to find a cheap way to get his own house mage.

 

Eventually, Zubaran found a chance to escape. A little and an affair with a baroness later – Zurbaran feels like he is the world’s greatest dandy – he was imprisoned. He was found guilty having poisoning the baroness's husband.

 

Eventually, Zurbaran was sent to the same jail as where Naurim and the player's character were imprisoned.

 

Additionally to murder, Zubaran is also accused of seducing to adultery, imposture, fraud and spying.

 

As a slave of a wealthy family, he saw the perks and luxury of a rich man's life right before his eyes, all the time. After his breakout, being free for the first time, he wanted this life for himself, with bath houses, money, slaves and women, of course. Therefore, Zubaran pretends to be a grandee himself – however, he's lacking all necessary assets, though. Not only his appearance is fake, he doesn’t really care about his vows of fidelity he gives his counterpart, too. Especially not when making them in a moment of passion.

 

Therefore he is living a carefree life and believes that he can own the world. He would sell someone's grandmother to get to what and where he wants, especially when a woman is involved. There are rare times, though, when even Zubaran shows cooperativeness.

 

With his mighty magic skills, Zurbaran is the perfect supportive addition to the party of playable characters.

 

Then there is Aurelia. She will become another member of the party later on. She has strong magic skills as well, and she also knows the player's character since childhood.

 

Aurelia is a witch of Horas and doesn't care about rules – and therefore gets in trouble a lot. Aurelia is wanted for witchcraft, immorality and indecent behavior.

 

Lysander is a NPC, but very important. He is one of the player's characters best buddies, and Elanor's boyfriend. Players will experience their character's long-lasting friendship with Lysander during multiple flash-back scenes, which open up throughout the game.

 

Later on, players will sharply be reminded that they spotted Lysander playing some leading role during their interrogation and torturing in prison. Seems like their friendship is not worth much here...?

 

That's a first overview on some of the playable and main characters of Blackguards. Soon, Daedalic Entertainment will reveal more and introduce additional characters of the upcoming turn-based RPG – some will be evil, and some will be even more evil...

 

::

 

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::

 

The process of introducing the game's characters continues:

 

Meet Takate, a former slave and gladiator born and raised among the tribes of South Aventuria’s vast jungles, his survival skills make him a formidable yet dangerous companion. Once a promising warrior, he was abducted by slavers and brought to an arena to serve as a whipping boy and sparring partner to the veteran gladiators. The cruel world of sand and blood taught him to fight to kill and he quickly rose in the ranks to become the ultimate champion, leaving those who belittled him in his wake as he entertained the crowds of ‘civilized’ spectators with his deadly grace and skill.

 

Even among the Blackguards, Takate makes an outstanding fighter and killer. Emotionless and cold-hearted as he may seem, he has trouble keeping his hatred of the upper-classes, especially slavers in check.

 

Poacher Niam knows the pain of a difficult life, her and her younger sister Salva, the half-Elven bastard children of a local baron, never had it easy. Cast out after their mother’s death, Niam spent her formative years raising Salva until she was able to look after herself. Trouble followed Niam as wild excesses and bad company lead her to dreamweed and an addiction to herb called Gods Sage. Becoming a poacher to fund her addiction, she fled to the wilderness to escape the long arm of the law, leaving her sister behind. Niam walks between two worlds, her loathing of being a poacher yet desperately needing to fund her addiction and the big town calling her back so she can succumb its temptations.

 

Shortly before Niam encountered the other Blackguards, Salva vanished without a trace only to return with a mysterious illness leaving her catatonic. A devastated Niam is determined to find a cure for her ailing sister.

 

Early into their adventure, the Blackguards encounter Master Urias ay Kalamal, a formidable and powerful opponent with the might of the Horas Empire’s respect behind him. Urias served under Empress Amene during the battle of the Troll Gate, fought the Thorwalians and lend his aid to thwart the red cough that ravaged Drôl. For his outstanding services, the Empress bestowed the title of count upon him.

 

The aged hero is devastated by the murder of his daughter Elanor and is willing to do anything to hunt down the apparent murderer, he won't rest until he sees him sway lifeless from the gallows.

 

Yet nobody who has captured the supposed killer has survived to bear witness as with the help of black magic and company of convicts, the murderer escaped the dungeons of Neetha.

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Thorondor Colonel

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RPS' Alec Meer spends some quality time with Blackguards.

 

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Also, Chapter 3 is today being welcomed to Steam Early Access:

 

After a perilous time fighting their way through the arenas of Mengbilla, the Blackguards are one step closer to solving the mysterious disappearance of Lysander. Could this also be an opportunity for this motley band of misfits to clear the murder charges against them?
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https://cdn4.steampowered.com/v/gfx/apps/249650/header_292x136.jpg

 

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Daedalic Entertainment has announced that a demo of Blackguards will be made available sometime tomorrow on Steam:

 

It will allow you to play the full chapter one (that's 6 to 8 hours of gameplay!) for free. The demo also contains the new expert character creation mode, that let's you create your characters more freely. Also player's will be able to use their savegames for the full game.
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https://www.daedalic.de/images/Blackguards_DLC_Takate_small.jpg

 

Daedalic Entertainment has announced the upcoming Untold Legends DLC.

 

With the "Untold Legends" DLC the Blackguards will once again return and follow Takate's tracks into the darkness of his past. A past that lies in the foothills of the rainforests in Southern Aventuria, where staying alive is a feat of its own due to beasts and monsters of the wild. And if that wasn't enough already, the long arm of the law wants the Blackguards' heads and even mysterious powers with sinister intentions are on their trail.

 

Key Features

 

• Seven new quests

• Four new weapons

• Ten new battle maps and one proving ground that can be visited again and again to test your strategies, skills and items

• 25 songs added to soundtrack

 

Also, Patch 1.3 for the main game will be put out at the same time:

 

(...) implementing improvements to the games balancing system as well as giving players further insight into their character's hit chances and how these can be improved. Hit chances will be shown during all battles for all characters and is no longer dependent on Animal Lore or Warcraft talent, giving players the opportunity to weigh the odds of their choice of attack. The patch will also give players the option to display a full battle log, including dice rolls, during combat enabling full transparency of events.

 

::

 

As pictured, Untold Legends will be released March 4th.

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