Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Retrospective

Back in 2006, Arkane Studios released Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, an action-RPG set in the world of Ashan you may remember from some of the later installments of the Heroes series. These days, the game is primarily remembered for its kick maneuver and all the environmental interactions it enabled, and that move is precisely the main focus of this PC Gamer retrospective.

A couple of sample paragraphs:

Even Dark Messiah’s pale, scrawny necromancers can take a major beating, so if you’re wailing on them with a sword, you’ll be giving your arm a serious workout. Not only are your foes a hardy bunch, they’ve also got a solid block and a penchant for ducking and weaving. Lose your rhythm or get surrounded and even the weakest of your enemies can slice off that last sliver of health.

Thankfully, you can get out of trouble thanks to your prodigious foot. A swift kick can solve almost any problem. Knocking an enemy back, for instance, will give you some breathing room and a moment to launch a counterattack, but you can also get a bit more tactical. And lethal. See a guard looking over the edge of a tower? Kick that idiot over. Spike traps are even more satisfying, and surprisingly common—health and safety standards were pretty low in 2006. If you want to prolong their death, you might want to boot them into a fire and watch them burn to a crisp. Everyone is so flammable in this world that you can even push them into a stove and they’ll light up like a bonfire. It’s great.

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Val Hull
Val Hull

Resident role-playing RPG game expert. Knows where trolls and paladins come from. You must fight for your right to gather your party before venturing forth.

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