Undecember, Diablo competition review is free to play

Action RPG hack and slash is a genre that can always count on a large number of fans and can attract a wide audience, which always justifies new projects and also makes them interesting. UNDEEMBER, given the game’s apparent proximity to industry staples such as Diablo and Path of Exile. Unfortunately, we are far from the heights reached by the reference series in this case, despite the excellent buildings from which this Needs Games project began, mainly due to a certain lack of public identity and unbridled monetization that ruins everything a little.

Also in this case, it is a title that is aimed above all at the mobile market but starts from the clear grounds rooted in the PC tradition, draws strong inspiration from the reference models mentioned above but attempts to present, at the same time, also some distinctive elements, succeeding only partially .

there Date Not exactly a volcano of originality: the purpose of the protagonist, who is fully customizable, is to become the greatest hunter of runes in Traum, a world ruled by the harmony of 12 divine beings whose balance they see threatened by the emergence of a mysterious being called the “Living God”. The mission of our fighter, initially moved for personal reasons, quickly expanded to become the classic journey to save the world, carrying out a large number of quests between the main combo line and sub-quests of different types, but all of them greatly focused on liberating different regions of the kingdom from the presence of monsters and various creatures , and even clashes with the various chiefs present. Nothing is absolutely memorable from a narrative point of view, but in an RPG of this genre, the plot is certainly secondary and serves above all as a catalyst to explore new territories, fight and, above all, collect artificial amounts of loot to strengthen the hero. .

Classic action RPG

Undecember structure is the classic style ofAction RPG Hack and Slash Diablo style, with the shot from above to show a large part of the surrounding world and the hero is bent on fighting hordes of enemies by liberating different areas of the map, and complete the various missions suggested by the story and non-player characters. As always in these cases, the main driver of the movement is above all the continuous progression of the hero, prompting us to gain experience points and search for new loot within increasingly dungeons filled with enemies, in an always-on mechanism. Well, being a bit rooted in the player’s primal instincts. During its beta phase, Undecember achieved great popularity thanks to some excellent ideas, mainly related to the hero evolution system, only to see the enthusiasm wan suddenly due to the unbridled implementation of micro-transactions, but the positive elements in the gameplay conditions remained.

The combat system It doesn’t make big news: it’s always about moving the character on the map and facing clashes with a huge number of enemies, alternating standard and special attacks, weapons and spells, paying attention to cooldowns and choosing the most appropriate options at the moment, including concentrated or area damage, and item spells And many other possibilities. As often happens, the challenge depends mainly on the level of experience the protagonist has attained, so leveling up is a key element of the game, with some of the most challenging and varied moments represented above all in clashes with bosses, some of which turn out to be very interesting for the modes. Attack and its characteristics. For the rest, at the front of the battle, it’s about pressing the keys corresponding to the attacks after arranging the optimal construction, which makes you satisfied from seeing entire enemy armies torn to shreds around our hero.

Layerless progression system

The most unique element of Undecember is progression system Layerless, which allows you to build fully customized fighters and without the need for options that prevent any kind of development. After a quick character editor, with limited possibilities to tell the truth, we start without choosing any major, allowing you to embark on your own path without any particular preparation. Already in the first minutes of the game, we can simply pick up a bow or some kind of sword and immediately test which one is more convenient for us, with the possibility of switching from one to the other at any time (obviously given the space limits of the inventory).

With the passage of levels the possibility of Protagonist formation The order of points accumulated among the three typical main stats consisting of dexterity, strength and intelligence, which also clearly defines a certain tendency towards certain disciplines, the degree of which each attribute affects the effectiveness of certain types of attack and the possibility of using certain weapons and armor.

This aspect still handles evolution in the more classic standards of an RPG, but nothing prevents you from creating well-balanced characters capable of using any type of weapon, or who can specialize in both standard attacks and spells.

Use runes Another interesting aspect: these are the basic elements of spells in the Undecember universe and can be managed with a reasonable degree of freedom, through the “composition” system that allows you to link them together and link them with different weapons. The runes are basically hexagonal boxes that are placed inside a kind of chessboard, so that the colored sides of these boxes fit together. If you can put it this way, you can get combinations of chain effects that ensure that both active and passive abilities are applied to weapons or used separately as spells, through an interesting and creative system, even if most of the associations between runes are rather instructed.

Aesthetics and Microtransactions

Undecember offers a general and uninspiring dark fantasy, which clearly looks at the famous examples mainly given by Diablo and Path of Exile but without the ability to give a distinct identity to all, despite some interesting ideas. The presence of an impersonal protagonist is clearly functional because it can be shaped in different ways according to the player’s tastes, but it is unfortunate that even Ocean world and history It fails to suggest something specific and attractive. In any case, the graphics are generally pleasant and are also suitable for use on mobile devices, as is the general clarity and scalable complexity of the elements on the screen.

The main sticking point of the game is its unbridled monetization: microtransactions Is a real problem with Undecember, which appeared after a positive beta period because it is practically devoid of this aspect. The problem is not with the fact that pay-to-win – an element that certainly exists – but rather with locating many of the useful features on the front of QoL behind the wall. Since it’s a free game, it’s normal for there to be paid items, but an “ethical” (as much as possible) use of this system would place restrictions on the aesthetics, not on the essential components of playing with proper comfort. Therefore, the space in the inventory, which has been artificially reduced, becomes acceptable by means of payment, just as a pet becomes useful (or at least harmless) only by acquiring the appropriate skills, for example. These and other features can be obtained with diamonds, which can only be purchased with real money and not play.