MythForce by Beamdog is a fantasy first-person crawler inspired by the 80s cartoon.

Update 13/4/22: Aspyr has acquired Beamdog and will publish the newly announced MythForce.

Aspyr is known for its Star Wars remasters and is currently working on a file BioWare’s Knights of the Old Republic Remake.

Beamdog, founded by former BioWare led by Trent Oster and Cameron Tofer, will operate as an independent studio within Aspyr, which is owned by Saber Interactive. Ultimately, that means Aspyr is now part of the massive Embracer group, formerly THQ Nordic AB.

Original story 12/4/22: Beamdog, the developer best known for reproducing Black Isle Studios classics like Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment, has unveiled MythForce, a new animated-inspired first-person fantasy film on Saturday mornings in the ’80s.

First things first, MythForce looks rather cool, doing a great job of capturing the atmosphere of any number of 80s cartoon favorites, albeit presented in full 3D. There’s a specific vibe to the critically acclaimed animated Dungeons & Dragons outing, for example (with a bit of the familiar arcade cult Dragon’s Lair), which is just right since Beamdog describes its game as a first-person swordsman and magic adventure.

At the core of MythForce, there’s a dungeon-crawling Roguelet experience that sees up to four players co-op – in the role of either Victoria the Brave Knight, Rico the Rogue Wizard, the Wise Maggie, and Hawkins the killer hunter – storming a colorful cartoon castle filled with “treasure, traps, and horror”. Beamdog promises to arm players with “legendary weapons and powerful magic” as they try to survive the evil forces within.

MythForce-lite’s rogue architecture means adventurers will be forced back to the start upon death, with the same castle reconfigured with each attempt. However, all will not be lost with players being able to use the “Meta-Progression System” to level up between kicks.

Beamdog is choosing to go the Early Access route with MythForce, and its initial release will include four playable heroes and the first episode, Bastion of the Beastlord – with the likes of new weapons and enemies to be added as development continues. The game is expected to be in Early Access for about a year, with major content patches – introducing the likes of new episodes and other “most important” features – arriving “every few months”.

MythForce launches in Early Access on April 20th, but only in Epic Games Store.

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