Thefocusinthisgamewillbeon
squad-based strategic combat, but it’ll
retain some of the role-playing elements
that define the Divinity games, namely
talking to people, character relationships,
customisation, and choices that alter the
course of the story. For many Divinity fans
this will be a surprising change of
direction, even though Larian has made
some strategy games in the past. I talked
to the studio’s founder, Swen Vincke,
about what we can expect from the
upcoming Fallen Heroes.
“We’re huge fans of tactics games,” he
says. “Into the Breach was one of our
favourite games of last year. When we
were making Original Sin 2 we had a lot of
discussions about things that we could
change in the combat, but we didn’t have
time. So we thought, what if we make a
tactics game?
“But in our game, story will define
everything that happens in the missions,
and everything that happens in the
missions will define the story. And from
this, Fallen Heroes was born.”
Set a few years after Original Sin 2,
Fallen Heroes sees the return of Lucian
the Divine, who tasks you, a commander,
with arresting the half-demon Malady.
“She has stolen powerful doomsday
weapons from the Divine Order, and
they’re afraid she’ll use them in a fit of
anger,” says Vincke. “But things are not
what they seem.”
“It is a story in its own right,” he adds
when I ask if being familiar with the series
is a requirement to enjoy Fallen Heroes.
“People who haven’t played Divinity will be
able to enjoy it. But we really wanted to
continue with the characters we’d
developed in Original Sin 2. We like them,
fans like them. Fans will love that you can
now control Malady in battle. If you played
Original Sin 2 it’ll feel like coming home.
But if you haven’t, you’ll meet a whole
bunch of interesting characters.”BRIEF ENCOUNTER
Larian is aiming for each hand-crafted
mission in Fallen Heroes to be around
20-30 minutes long, but there’ll be some
downtime as well. “Between missions
you’re aboard the Lady Vengeance and
here you’ll meet the heroes from Original
Sin 2, as well as some new characters,”
says Vincke. “You’ll talk to them and make
choices that will define what happens in
the missions, and what missions you’ll be
able to access. There’s real choice here.
You can also upgrade technology, unlock
new heroes, and buy consumables to take
into missions.
“You have multiple rooms, and in these
rooms different characters will appear
depending on what’s happening in the
story. You can interact with them using
the conversation system from Original Sin
2. Some characters can even leave you if
they don’t agree with what you’re doing.
They may also join you in combat, bringing
unique abilities with them, depending on
choices you make in the story.”
I ask Vincke to explain how combat in
Fallen Heroes compares to Original Sin 2.
“The changes are different enough that
it’s going to feel fresh. On the other hand
it’s familiar enough that you’ll understand
what your tactical opportunities are.
“You’ll have to adapt your thinking a
little bit. The biggest change is that it’s
now squad-based. We have around 200
skills and over 30 unit types, and that
creates a lot of combinations and
possibilities on the battlefield.”L
ate last year, Larian – the Belgian
developer behind the Divinity series –
said it was moving on to “new stuff ”
after the success of our 2017 Game of the
Year, Divinity: Original Sin 2. And now we know
what that project is – an RPG-infused turn-based
tactics game called Divinity: Fallen Heroes which
continues the story of Original Sin 2.
A fantasy tactics game set in the
world of Divinity: Original Sin
DIVINITY:
FALLEN HEROES
IT’LL RETAIN SOME OF THE
ROLE-PLAYING ELEMENTS THAT
DEFINE THE DIVINITY GAMESRELEASE
2019
DEVELOPER
Larian StudiosPUBLISHER
In-houseLINK
http://www.larian.comNEED TO KNOW
FIRST
LOOKPREVIEW
Divinity: Fallen Heroes