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If you’ve never heard of Vindictus, I don’t blame you. This MMO made by Korean developers NEXON has been huge on the other side of the pond while we’ve stuck with other giants of the genre. Now, the developers have moved away from the online landscape to focus on a grounded action RPG experience, and so far, it looks fantastic. Vindictus: Defying Fate is the company’s new game, which brings one of the best combat systems I’ve seen, with stunning graphics and cute characters we’d love to dress up.
Vindictus: Defying Fate – Hands-On Impressions
Like many more gamers worldwide, I had the chance to try the new Vindictus: Defying Fate game, and I must tell you, while short, it impacted me in many ways. Beyond its beautiful graphics and the waifu I used to obliterate Celtic-inspired creatures, its combat systems are extremely smooth and rival many games of the genre. Even if this is just an alpha version of the upcoming product, it was enough to earn a spot on my wishlist. And the great thing for many players is that no one needs to play the first installment to enjoy this one.
Action Combat To Its Finest
If you didn’t know, a bit more than a decade ago, Vindictus was considered the MMO with the best action combat in the market. Nowadays, we can see Black Desert Online on top of that, so for once, I’m glad NEXON took a different approach to its series. Instead of sticking to an oversaturated multiplayer market, the company brought the big guns from its MMO and made it into an action RPG with polished combat mechanics that seem to be almost ready to leave the oven.
During the pre-alpha test, I was able to pick between Lann and Fiona, the two characters that let you test the waters of this game. The former is a dual-wielding swordsman with an aggressive playstyle. The latter is a sword-and-board beauty that eclipses many of the waifus in my collection. Being the cultured man that I am, I picked Fiona in a heartbeat. Oh yes, her gameplay influenced my decision as well.
Jokes aside, Fiona’s gameplay, which is the one I tried the most, was amazing. The game has several combos you can pull off with your mouse or a controller. Besides the combos, you have four active skills with cooldowns that do devastating damage. The loop is akin to any modern action RPG. Spam your combos, defeat enemies, and use skills when the need arises. However, the selling point is the installment’s presentation.
Beauty Beyond Comparison
Even if the action RPG gameplay might not be new for many, the way Vindictus: Defying Fate presents it is second to none. Usually, we have games where hits, slashes, punches, and whatnot feel either too stiff or too quick. This might not affect gameplay, but after a while, it doesn’t reflect your character’s power. Here, you can truly feel the weight behind every swing of Fiona’s blade. The way she charges at enemies with her shield and blocks attacks from all sides feels so realistic and satisfying.
The smoothness of how the combat works shows the studio took inspiration from recent Soulslike games. Each enemy is challenging and has attack patterns that can ruin your day. There wasn’t a lot of variety in the test, but it had enough to let us get a small taste of the finished product, from the ranged foes that won’t relent with their arrows to mini-bosses with huge hammers that leave little space to dodge. It is great to see these foes encourage you to be aggressive in your gameplay, and while it keeps the methodical aspects of a Soulslike installment, you’ll also feel like Dante slashing away in Devil May Cry.
A Promising Adventure
It is clear that the developers wanted us to try the combat only. There isn’t a story or fleshed-out RPG system to see how deep the new game will go, but my first impressions of Vindictus: Defying Fate made me feel hopeful. However, there’s a long way to go before this game releases, and we’ll still need to see if it has enough content to keep us hooked. But if the original entry of this series is still afloat, I can see a new game going for the long haul.
