During EA’s briefing at this year’s Gamescom, the publisher announced the latest RPG from Bioware. Shadow Realms is a new IP that is being developed by Bioware’s Austin studio. Formed in 2006, the studio’s original purpose was to create the Star Wars MMO The Old Republic. Shadow Realms will the team’s second game and, just as The Old Republic was, it will be online only.
However this does no mean that it will be an MMO. Instead the game is much more influenced by the classic pen and paper RPGs. Four players will team up to go on adventures and upgrade their characters. The role of the dungeon master will be fulfilled by a fifth person who plays as the Shadowlord. This fifth player has control of almost all aspects of the game and it is their task to destroy all four of the heroes. This 4v1 multiplayer dynamic is certainly interesting although it does sound similar to what is being attempted by the upcoming Microsoft RPG Fable Legends.
The story of the game revolves around a select portion of humanity who are waking up to discover that they are being granted special powers and sent to fight the Shadow Legions of Embra. General manager Jeff Hickman has stated that “Shadow Realms is a new BioWare RPG that has the hallmarks of all BioWare games with a rich story, a unique world setting, and deep combat progression, but built as an interactive experience that evolves the genre and broadens the appeal to online gamers all over the world.”
For much more information about Shadow Realms, check out the official website. The game is expected to launch on PC in late 2015 and may come to consoles as well.
Via Polygon