Chumps Preview is a special kind of post where we unofficially preview games in Early Access, Beta, or are otherwise “unfinished.” This kind of preview is meant to be a first impression rather than a definitive review where we provide a rating to determine a game’s value. As such, we fully expect a game covered in a Chumps Preview to have room for improvement, some bugginess/incompleteness, and other features associated with similar games in the category.
A few weeks ago, we had the chance for a sneak peek into an upcoming game developed by Rune Studio and published by Dotemu and The Arcade Crew: Wardens of Avalon. Wardens of Avalon is a top-down ARPG – think Diablo and Path of Exile. There are similarities in the form of navigating through a dangerous world, attacking with a melee weapon and blocking with a shield, casting some spells, and rolling away from danger.
I started off my preview being told that I was in the Afterlife, a place that had become corrupted after King Arthur had drank from the Holy Grail. Corruption had infested this beautiful space, turning once natural flora into tentacles and blight that consumed my character’s energy. Morgan Le Fay stood before me, nominating me to be a member of the Twilight Knights and setting me off on a path to stop Arthur from further corrupting the land.
Combat felt familiar, albeit mainly tied to attacking via right-clicking and timing dodges correctly with spacebar. The boss I faced (prior to unlocking my Citadel) felt like a massive sponge. He would lunge at me with his mace, slam his shield into the ground to create an AOE danger zone, and block my attacks with his massive shield just like I would…but my own blocks seemed to be meaningless. I didn’t unlock any abilities here, as the focus of my preview was placed on where Wardens of Avalon aims to set itself apart from competitors: citybuilding (err…Citadel-building).
Wardens of Avalon allowed me to build my own little Citadel from ruins. I was required to harvest fibres (with a sickle), mine rock (with a pickaxe), and chop down trees (with an axe). After I had accumulated enough, I could go back to my Citadel ruins and start building it up to my heart’s desire. I immediately built a workshop to refine wood into planks; the process had me deposit my accumulated wood and wait patiently as the clock ticked down to convert the wood into the planks for further use. I also built a storeroom, letting me store all of my accumulated resources which freed up space in my precious inventory.
I spent quite a bit of time puttering around the outskirts of my Citadel, gathering the resources necessary for building it back up to its former glory. Every so often, an enemy would spawn and distract me, but not enough for me to get completely thrown off my focus of getting everything I needed. My Citadel’s denizens praised me for building it back up, encouraging me to focus on my work while promising me that they might help me in the future. It felt like I was playing Stardew Valley again…albeit one that staked a claim in a darker territory.
I am not fully sure how the citybuilding will ultimately shape out in the final release. ARPGs lean heavily into lootseeking, limitbreaking, characterbuilding, and inventory optimization. Managing a city by grinding for resources pushes the player to spend time away from chasing rare loot and refining a character. It doesn’t mean that Rune Studios, The Arcade Crew, and Dotemu shouldn’t play in this space, however. It just means that this game runs the risk of feeling less like a Diablo game and more like Stardew Valley or Minecraft. Who knows? Existing Stardew fans who wanted a medieval thematic may find themselves gravitating towards Wardens of Avalon, only to find out that they like the lootseeking ARPGs.
I’m legitimately curious to see how things evolve and shape out as Wardens of Avalon makes its way to full release. The townbuilding I experienced was largely utilitarian and mostly manual. I had a small degree of freedom to place stalls and other improvements where I wanted, but I didn’t yet see a way to customize these spaces. Would I be able to change their color, or perhaps give them a unique flair so that my Citadel/Fiefdom felt like my own? Would I be able to automate parts of my Citadel to manufacture the resources I need for endgame content? Only time will tell.
One last point of intrigue: There’s apparently some PVP element that’s coming soon. I found it right outside of my Citadel. Mum seems to be the word on what PVP will entail within Wardens of Avalon, but I’m glad to see that they’re laying the groundwork for what looks to be collaborative and competitive content.
There’s no firm launch date yet, but the developers have told us that 2027 is the goal for the eventual PC/Steam release. To whet your appetite in the meantime, check out the new gameplay trailer below!
