The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot is out now; check out our Mighty Quest for Epic Loot review.
The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot is an action-RPG-cum-dungeon-keeper hybrid. It’s of interest not only because Dungeon Keeper proper has lately been malformed beyond recognition, but also because it’s the first ever RPG to emerge from Ubisoft Montreal’s former textiles mill – birthplace of Assassin’s Creed, Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six: Vegas, Watch Dogs, and a dozen other sneaky action games that’ll make you go “Oh yeah!”.
Until now, access has been restricted to players willing to stump up for Steam Early Access, which seemed a bit off in a game destined to be free-to-play. But that was then, when Opulencia hadn’t opened its doors for open beta.
You’ll need a Uplay account to sign up, which you’re perfectly entitled to bitch and moan about until you realise you’ve already got one. Uplay is one of those extra steps in a process you eventually stop noticing, like lifting an iffy door slightly off its hinges to open it. I should call my landlord.
There’s a new paid-for class for the occasion: The Runaway.
“Experienced looters as well as newcomers will enjoy her striking speed that gives her a clear edge during combat,” write Ubisoft. “This rocker girl shows no mercy when it comes to hacking and slashing; she rocks the axe like nobody else.”
Hrrm. I’m not entirely sold on the game’s, ah, quirky sense of humour. But everything else has been given a nice, large, enthusiastic tick by our Steve in his Mighty Quest for Epic Loot preview. Players charge the defences of player-built castles in Diablo-like fashion and retrieve piles of loot – which they in turn horde in castles, for which they build defences. And so the entertaining cycle goes.
Ubisoft say closed beta revealed “how imaginative looters could be when their precious treasure was threatened”, so expect tricksy resistance.
Also expect the odd microtransaction opportunity: five Diamond packs are available to give new players a “head start”. Do you think you’ll buy your way to the ramparts, or source your palisades on the cheap?