Mistover - First Impressions
By: Mithrandiel
RPG fans, rejoice! In a few short weeks, Mistover will be arriving. This challenging dungeon crawler draws some inspiration from Darkest Dungeon, namely the corrupting force known as “The Mist”, which adventurers are expected to navigate at the risk of strange mutations and inadvertent changes to their bodies.
The time trial demo is available now, which gives you ~10 minutes to wander a large, labyrinthine dungeon. Along the way you’re expected to avoid traps, execute some semblance of stealth by hiding in bushes from enemies, collect keys, unlock treasure, and ultimately return to town with your spoils and try again.
The demo features a handful of classes, the majority of which utilize MP to execute skills. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but largely you’ll be drawing from your MP to unleash spells and special attacks.
Skills are customizable, with 13 total skills available and only 5 permitted in any given “loadout”. The importance of this skill selection becomes apparent once you enter the battlefield.
There are three rows of combatants on either side, with certain classes optimized for specific rows. The range of various skills is also dictated by this layout. Veterans of Darkest Dungeon can share the unique frustration of having a particularly annoying enemy in the back row and no effective way of reaching them.
The selection of skills and character placement are just a taste of the layers of strategy needed to overcome the challenges that Mistover has to offer.
Your roster of heroes is varied, and the design features a bit more...light when compared to your typical Darkest Dungeon lineup. Your magicians aren’t haggard champions in disheveled robes, but more akin to magical girls from an anime series. Your paladin isn’t grimacing and teetering on the brink of surrendering themselves to the void - she instead has a bright (and fearsome) tower shield, with a cheerful voice actor that makes shield bashing opponents fun!
The dungeons themselves are designed like an elaborate game board - with traps and obstacles preventing free movement, and each step consuming “Luminosity” - much like how light faded gradually over time within Darkest Dungeon.
I’ve enjoyed my handful of delves into the Mist so far, but I did find that the game comes at you pretty fast. I understand that the tutorials aren’t designed to be utilized every time, but on your first run you find yourself spending the majority of the time reading through the various descriptions, tips and tricks. By the time you start feeling like you’ve got a grasp on it, the time trial comes to an end.
Of course, you can fire it up again, and it’s in that 2nd and 3rd (and 4th and 5th...) trip that you begin to discover Mistover’s more addictive qualities. Just make sure you give it a chance beyond the initial run.
We plan on offering our thoughts on the full game when it arrives on October 10th, but in the meantime, make sure to check out the demo!
Had a chance to play already? Feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments!
