In an era when so many action-RPGs seem desperate to prove they are the dreariest game on the market, Spearhead Games is hoping to bring some fairy tale magic back to the genre with its upcoming PS4 release, Stories: The Path of Destinies.
Stories follows the adventures of a fox named Reynardo; a sky corsair (read: pirate) that Spearhead Games founder Malik Boukhira compares to the Han Solo. But this isn’t your usual tale of swashbuckling and walking the plank. In The Path Of Destinies, an evil empire threatens to wipe out all life on the world Reynardo calls home, forcing the pilot to join forces with the local rebellion and fight back. But despite the fox’s background in aviation, most of the action in Stories: The Path of Destinies actually takes place down on the ground. And it looks absolutely stunning.
Combat in Stories isn’t complex. Reynardo has a single attack, mapped to the Square button, along with a grappling hook to close the distance on ranged enemies. The fox can also grab foes, by holding Square, and either throw them into other enemies (for crowd control) or off the side of a cliff (for a quick kill). He can even dash towards, away or even straight through enemies with a Dash command mapped to the X button. Reynardo can also swap between his four swords – each of which has a unique elemental affiliation and can be upgraded over the course of the game – at will. Each sword also has its own elemental effects and can be used to gain access to areas of the world that would otherwise not be accessible by Reynardo.
Most importantly, the combat in Stories: The Path of Destinies was some of the most intuitive and enjoyable action I’ve seen in months. Players regularly face off against large groups of enemies but, unlike so many other projects, Spearhead manages to keep the pacing brisk without mimicking the Freeflow combat mechanics popularized by Rocksteady Studio’s Arkham franchise. A dash command makes it easy to reposition yourself, either to avoid incoming attacks or close the distance between Reynardo and his target(s). Dashing through enemies also deals a small amount of damage.
As you might expect, given its RPG inspirations, crafting plays a prominent role in Stories, too. Players collect gems, each of which have their own particular effects, that can be slotted into Reynardo’s equipment to improve certain statistics or abilities. As you progress through the game, players will find increasingly powerful gems for Reynardo's swords. But Boukhira says players will need to think carefully before deciding how to allocate their gems.
“Gems are modifiers that you can add to your character for (mostly passive) abilities,” Boukhira said. “But you can’t equip them all, so you kind of have to build your character and decide how you want to play him.”
When everything is said and done, Boukhira estimates Stories will take around five hours to complete. But the studio is hoping fans will play through the game more than once, to see how different decisions will alter Reynardo’s story. Unlike so many modern narrative adventures, which tend to prioritize the illusion of control over any actual ability to impact a story, the narrative in Stories: The Path Of Destinies will change drastically based on the decisions made between chapters. With that in mind, the Spearhead Games founder says fans could easily spend 20-30 hours on Stories, if they’re interested in seeing more than one ending to the story. Unfortunately, a final price point has yet to be decided; however, Boukhira says fans can likely expect the launch price to be around $14.99.
Stories: The Path Of Destinies is being developed for PlayStation 4. The game is currently scheduled to debut sometime in early 2016.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for more PAX South coverage throughout the remainder of the convention.
Note: This article has been edited to reflect the fact there's only one attack button, instead of the previously stated two. We've also updated the gem description to reflect new information provided by a representative of Spearhead Games after the article was published.
