We recently got the chance to try out the closed beta phase of Devilian, a free to play fantasy action RPG being published in the west by Trion Worlds; originally seen as a South Korean release the game is now building up to an NA/EU release. Checking the game out for the first time for a solo hands on play it’s fair to say that we didn’t have the highest hopes of another Asian action RP import, the track record of the genre has been a real mixed bag and resulted in some crash and burn titles in the past that have left us serious underwhelmed. It didn’t take long for us to realise that we weren’t going to have that problem with Devilian.

First look of the game and we’ll say it’s got some of the best RPG graphics we’ve seen for a while, particularly when it comes down to the environmental design, often using a scene where we’re fighting high up on a cliff, around floating cities, or even in cavern complexes and castles where there’s lots of levels seemingly below us, the isometric camera angles and impression of height that is created is really well done. Visually the game is on par with a lot of other classic action RPG titles such as Diablo 3 and definitely feels like a quality product.

Next in line to settle any concerns we might have had came in the form of the games written story/dialogue content, through talking to NPCs and picking up quests there was a distinct lack of spelling mistakes and bad English grammar that we’ve pretty much become accustomed to when it comes to bad Asian imports (we’re sure the original titles are generally fine, but some publishers do an absolutely awful job of translating). Not having to stammer our way through broken English or get lost up in badly worded colloquialisms made a huge difference when it came to the overall presentation; we could believe this is a AAA title.

There are four character classes in the game, we say “character classes” in that each class was locked to a particular character/gender, the female characters were the Evoker spell caster and heavy weapons Cannoneer, whilst the males were a duel sword wielding Berserker and a long chain whip using Shadowhunter. Having seen the Shadowhunter used before we decided to try out the Evoker, always enjoying spell casting and really being able to test the special effects that generally accompany them. Once more we weren’t disappointed; launching fireballs, obliterating enemies in chains of lightning or freezing groups in place both looked and felt great and the look and feel complimented the pace of combat well.

The combat is the main focus of the game, whether PVE or PVP (which unfortunately we never got the chance to try out even after queueing for quite some time), and is particularly well done. Lacking the traditional tab targeting or locking onto an enemy with mouse clicks, instead our movement was controlled with WASD and our hotkey abilities were directed by our mouse cursor. When an ability (in our case a spell) was triggered then it would fire off towards the mouse cursor if it was a projectile type spell, or if in some cases such as our Lightning Strike or Frost attack it would hit the area that our cursor was at and deal AOE damage. Combat most definitely required skill and we can see how as you level up and enemies start getting tougher then this managing of your abilities and nailing your precision skill shot attacks could become quite the challenge; particularly when enemies are making big attacks which are highlighted by a red target on the ground, the VERY quick use of your spacebar “Teleport” spell allows you to blink a short range towards your cursor to dodge the attack.

With a beta account provided to us it did mean we got to sample some of the beta rewards including a handful of much needed inventory expansion tickets (you fill your inventory up pretty fast), character slot ticket (the default is two characters), a polar bear battle mount (looked awesome) a Corgi pet (by Corgi we do mean a little dog) which provided buffs, and a variety of other perks, potions and coins.

We managed to get up to around level 13, which had firmly taken us out of the starting zone and was at the point where we first unlocked our Devilian form, a secondary form that players can turn into that gives them extra powers and enhanced versions of their normal class skillset. Switching to Devilian form is done by killing enemies to build up the Awaken gauge, then once transformed the gauge starts to tick down (reverting you back to your normal form if it reaches zero) but can be replenished by making subsequent attacks and keeping in battle. We didn’t get to explore this form that much as it was drawing towards the end of our allotted playtime when we finally unlocked it; it’s an interesting feature and particularly useful for taking on more powerful enemies.

So what are our overall thoughts? Well for the things that the game does and has focused on, it does very well. Combat is fast and fun, the graphics are great, the narrative is interesting and informative for world building; however, whilst racing way ahead of most of the free to play RPGs we check out, Devilian still isn’t a particularly original game and the features it does have can be seen in other games. Questing is traditional to the point where it’s a little tedious and “same old, same old”, you kill X number of enemies to gain loot and improve your gear, it’s just lacking in the depth and original features that a lot of other AAA Action RPGs have (Diablo, Marvel Heroes 2015, Path of Exile). Far from a bad title we can only hope that with time, playerbase and effort the game will include some more features, and we’ll give Devilian the benefit of the doubt that its 3v3, 20v20 and Guild v Guild PVP is as exciting as we’d hope it would be.

CONCLUSION

• Pros: Exciting skill based combat mechanics, well developed narratives/storyline, exceptional graphics.


• Cons: Not particularly original, traditional questing that can be a bit tedious.

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