The Dungeons & Dragons franchise continues to expand into video games with Warlock, the upcoming open world action-RPG from Invoke Studios. Following its gameplay reveal during Gamescom Opening Night Live, GameSpot had the chance to preview a hands-off demo of Warlock, which showcased plenty of dark-fantasy elements in a world filled with player choice.
Warlock is a third-person single-player adventure set in one of Ravenloft’s Domains of Dread, Darkon–a realm known for its gothic cities and vast wilderness, the latter of which is dotted with undead. Invoke Studios describes Darkon as an “exploration-driven” open world. Unlike in D&D, players won’t be rolling dice, but they’ll still be able to invoke plenty of magic as Kaatri, the game’s protagonist. Kaatri is played by Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia Helfer, and she is guided by a patron named Tasha, who is played by Maggie Robertson, an actress notable for her performance as Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village.
With Tasha’s guidance, Kaatri will learn to see and collect raw magic in the world, growing more powerful and gaining the knowledge of several spells along the way. Dungeons & Dragons fans will recognize popular spells in the trailer like Witch Bolt, Gust of Wind, Black Tentacles, and Eldritch Blast, but the full range of Kaatri’s magic hasn’t been revealed yet. The developer explained that some spells can be used for both combat and exploration, and there is also ritual-type magic that can be invoked with ingredients found in the world–we see this in the trailer, with Kaatri performing a ritual to create a downpour, buffing the effects of Witch Bolt.
Despite abandoning other elements of D&D, Warlock still leans heavily into player choice, as one would expect from Dungeons & Dragons. Kaatri has a sword at her disposal, and the developer explained that in many cases, the player will have options on how to approach locked areas, combat, and other situations. Maybe blunt force is the path the player wants to take, or they could instead opt to use magic to find an alternative way forward.
