Hunted: The Demon’s Forge Preview, Screenshots

Until someone convinces me that Bethesda and inXile’s new co-op dungeon crawl isn’t simply an action RPG in disguise, I’m going to keep posting news about it. With that out of the way, IGN has given us the very first preview of the game, along with a half dozen screenshots.

Half of the equation of that makes up a dungeon crawl is the exploration and puzzle solving. Were you to simply rush through the game moving from one combat situation to the next, Bethesda claims the game will last about as long as your typical action romp. Search every nook and cranny and solve every little puzzle and you’re looking at a substantially longer experience. The one puzzle I saw fell into the easy category (the developers promise some will be real head scratchers), involving a talking stone face built into a wall that had to have a lit arrow fired into one of its eyes before it would open. This led down a massive series of tunnels that eventually ended at a really impressive looking boss fight.

And there is loot to be found down these secret corridors. Nothing is randomized (the grounds are not covered in random loot after every battle) in Hunted, which means those who take the time to explore will find weapons above and beyond what is possible by simply sticking to the beaten path. Leveling, likewise, is structured in a way that doesn’t encourage grinding. By finding special crystals and trading them in, players can unlock new skills and spells, or upgrade existing ones, in a branching skill tree.