Whether Baldur’s Gate 3 was your entry point into tactical RPGs, or you’re a long-time veteran of games like Divinity Original Sin, Wasteland 3, and Mutant Year Zero, New Arc Line is a game you’ll want to keep a close eye on. I sat down with developer Dreamate at Gamescom 2024 for a hands-off demonstration of New Arc Line in action, and it left me eager to get hands-on with the final thing.
New Arc Line takes place in a world wrought by conflict between technology and magic. The good news is that, at the time we take control, a peace of sorts has been brokered between the factions. The bad news is that it’s because the technologists won, and now sit as the rich elite class, having forced mages out into the fringes of society, where they scrabble to get by in poverty-ridden slums.
The really bad news is that the clash of tech and magic has spawned the rise of a vicious, deadly affliction known as the Iron Plague. At this point in the tactical RPG‘s storyline, no-one in the world of New Arc knows the Iron Plague starts and spreads. Once infected, a person’s internal organs and skin slowly become covered with metal – the exact progression varies from person to person, but it is ultimately fatal to all who contract it.
In an attempt to help, we’re assisting a medical facility, where one Doctor Worthington is making as-yet fruitless attempts to cure the disease. Our job is to find infected individuals who are prepared to come to the clinic as research subjects.
As you explore the world of New Arc Line, you’ll make plenty of stat checks, each of which roll against a combination of your character’s relevant skill rating and the difficulty of the task in particular. These range from spotting valuable supplies in an abandoned truck to employing various methods of verbal or physical persuasion against those you encounter.
Our first potential recruit is Samson, a man whose body and fists have been layered with metal. He’s opted to take advantage of this, using his newfound hardiness to protect the locals against a band of troublesome thugs. We have a few possible ways to approach the situation, but decide to resolve it by offering to remove the gang from the equation altogether. Here, our protagonist – a Voodoo Mage capable of controlling the battlefield and applying debuffs – is joined by Mick, a beefy man in a robot suit.
Placing down a Taunting Totem forces nearby enemies to make saving throws against becoming distracted from their intended targets. Then, our squad uses a skill to soulbind the gangsters together, causing damage dealt by one to also apply to the others. That opens them up for Mick to deliver a devastating charge punch. Once the bandits are dealt with, Samson heads off to the clinic.
Our next encounter is with a monster that’s comprised of three former humans, stuck together and turned into a twisted abomination by the Iron Plague. Of course, this means they all need to agree to come – and that requires persuading one particular stick in the mud. We opt to do so by tempting them with a perhaps-overexaggerated promise of hope; it’s for their own good, right?
Finally on the list is Asavir, a man who’s entire outer body has been turned to metal aside from his face. This means he’s essentially a human statue, and his neighbours have been using him as exactly that. Asavir’s happy to come with us, but first he wants us to play a few pranks on those responsible for his current situation.
New Arc Line isn’t always a serious game, Dreamate explains. You don’t always face world-ending odds; it’s not always about life-changing choices. Here, we opt to steal the slippers of a mean old lady, block up a chimney, and oil up a set of stairs for a slapstick surprise. If we didn’t have oil for the latter, there’s also the option to make a sleight of hand check to imperceptibly damage the stairs to similar effect, but the greasy way is more amusing.
Job done, we head back to the facility, only to make a rather startling discovery. The good doctor, it seems, has been paying his patients to compete in an underground fight ring. His colleague, Doctor Bailey, is not happy about this, and wants him gone. Doctor Worthington, however, remarks that no-one else will employ those afflicted by the Iron Plague, and he’s not forcing any of them to take part in the fights.
We’re left with a choice – get Doctor Worthington to stop the fights, or let things carry on as they are? Crucially, it’s not a decision we’re forced to make; our job is done, and we’ll get the promised quest rewards even if we walk away and tell the practitioners to sort it out between themselves.
New Arc Line features six classes and 12 subclasses, with the ability to lean into either the technology or magical side. Technologists can loot, trade, craft, and buy additional options to help improve their loadout, while mages make use of magical cards that can be combined to earn new skills and abilities, or to unlock additional dialogue options. There’s a lot to look forward to here, and the beautiful art design and intriguing story has me very excited to play the full game when it arrives – and it’s currently scheduled for launch in 2024, so hopefully it won’t be too long.
In the meantime, you can also take a look through the best strategy games to play in 2024, or find lots of engaging tales among the best story games on PC.