Pagan Online is an action RPG with some MOBA design sensibilities, Wargaming and Mad Head Games announced last month, and now we can see the mythological romp in action. Take a gander at the gameplay teaser trailer above.
I’m not seeing much of the MOBA or mythological elements, but it certainly looks like an ARPG. In fact, while the art style does differ a little bit, some of those environments look almost identical to ones in Diablo 3. Obviously a cave is a cave, but the whole thing looks pretty familiar.
Heroes are meant to duke it out with enemies and bosses based on “pre-Christian mythology”, according to Mad Head Games, but it’s hard to pick out anything that really evokes that in the trailer. And pre-Christian mythology is super non-specific. That’s just every myth that’s more than a couple of thousand years old. So most of them.
Blocking the exits of every fight in the trailer are these ethereal blue walls, so it looks like Pagan Online traps you in combat encounters until you defeat your enemies, like Devil May Cry. It’s a shame, as one of the great joys of an ARPG is gathering up a gigantic horde of enemies, a veritable ocean of them, and only then destroying them. I do like the challenge room setup in other action games, however, so I'm willing to consider giving up my monster train.
It’s not something that's apparent in the video, but Pagan Online’s progression system sounds quite intriguing. Like a MOBA, you’re building a roster of characters with lots of specialities that you can bring out depending on the situation. You’re still developing them like an RPG character, getting new gear and skills, but you won’t be stuck with just one.
There's no release date yet, but you can sign up to test Pagan now.
