A teaser trailer was released yesterday, giving a brief glimpse at the gameplay on show. It will look familiar to any fans of late-1990s RPGs, with its isometric viewpoint and stunning backdrops. The gameplay is based on the fifth generation Dungeons & Dragons ruleset, and even has the backing of Wizards of the Coast. The team working on the title is certainly impressive. The Sword Coast Legends team is being led by Dragon Age: Origins director Dan Tudge, and is a collaboration between n-Space and Digital Extremes, the latter of which developed Warframe. The game itself certainly has some interesting elements. A single-player mode is the bread-and-butter, with a promised in-depth story and narrative experience worthy of the game’s setting, but the real eye-turner is the possibility for multiplayer. Up to four players can join forces against a fifth player, taking the place of the Dungeon Master and creating a unique adventure for the other players. It’s stated that this game mode should be “non-adversarial,” clearly suggesting that user-created content could follow the same storytelling sentiments of the tabletop game. So far, though, information is still thin on the ground. Sword Coast Legends is currently available for pre-order on Steam, with bundle deals available for fans wanting the 4-versus-1 experience. It all sounds very promising so far, though, particularly given that the development team apparently contains staff who have worked on Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights. We’ll keep an eye out for any more updates. Sword Coast Legends is currently set for release on Windows in 2015.
