Tenebrae: Twilight of the Gods is an action Metroidvania game featuring both platform and RPG elements. The game has been developed by the independent studio called Troglobytes Games and published by Square-Enix – among other platforms, the game is available on PS4, PC and XONE as a part of the Square Enix Collective program, in which the Japanese corporation s independent developers teams. In the game, a player gets to explore a dark fantasy world and assume the role of one of the daredevils standing up to the forces of evil.
Mechanics
One begins his adventure in Tenebrae: Twilight of the Gods from creating his character – a player gets at his disposal a combat-focused Barbarian or magic-oriented Rogue, who prefers ranged attacks. Each character features a unique set of skills and powers, which are developed throughout the game after acquiring enough experience points and leveling up – this is when a player can choose to improve one of five basic traits – Health, Strength, Agility, Fury/Mana, and Luck. These traits, next to the stats of the utilized equipment, have a direct influence on the secondary traits (Active Defense, ive Defense, Critical Hit Chance, and Damage).
The story campaign has been divided into five acts between which one can replenish his provisions (such as potions) and acquire new pieces of equipment, e.g. maps. The buffer locations have been designed manually, unlike all the other levels, which are generated procedurally – this regards both level design and the distribution of all the objects and enemies. Another important aspect of the game is the so-called backtracking – a player can access certain locations only after he unlocks a particular trait or acquires a given piece of equipment. Even though the majority of the game takes place under the ground, there are also few picturesque landscapes waiting for players to explore.
On his adventure, a player has to face diverse adversaries – from minor demons and monsters (both humanoid and surreal), who attack in groups, to gigantic bosses, who can be defeated by a well-developed character equipped with the proper weapons and employing successful tactics. In combat, a player can utilize melee weapons, ranged weapons, and the aforementioned special abilities and powers – all abilities exhibit a Nature (Tenebrae, Blood, Poison, and Thunder). Also, the pieces of armor are assigned to particular Natures. Wearing an armor of particular nature is one of the conditions to unlock special locations crawling with hordes of powerful opponents and filled with rare items. Nonetheless, acquiring a proper armor is not an easy task, as it is usually a reward for defeating a boss waiting at the end of a level.
Technical aspects
Tenebrae: Twilight of the Gods for PS4, PC and XONE has been based on the Unreal Engine 4 technology, which allowed the developers to achieve high-quality 3D visuals in their game. Moreover, the game delivers a dedicated atmospheric soundtrack written by Denny Scheidemesser.
