Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements Preview

TotalVideoGames has conjured up a somewhat negative preview of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements, after spending some firsthand time with a press build of Ubisoft’s Xbox 360 FPS/RPG hybrid.

A strong sense of immersion is key for any videogame, but especially for those set in high fantasy worlds of dragons, wizards, demonic ghouls. Atmospheres created through the visual style and a multi-layered use of sound and music that suck players into the experience, with the final embrace coming from engaging gameplay. So far it seems that Elements is way, way off the mark, with visuals falling far short of what we’d expect from a game being released over two years into a console’s life-cycle. The textures in the gameworld are wholly underwhelming in the build, reaching the standards expected in an Xbox 1 title, the animation is clunky and robotic, and the lighting/shadowing isn’t convincing in the least. There’s little sense of atmosphere or immersion in Elements to date; at no point in the hands on did it feel convincing or engaging. Instead, the experience felt rougher than sandpaper.