I should probably rein in my expectations.In the video game industry, 2023 saw significant changes within larger publishers and developers. Look, I know there are too many live service multiplayer romps and any suggestion that a singleplayer property should pivot to multiplayer sounds like a threat, but this split focus means The Molasses Flood won't be able to give either component all of its attention. We've already got multiple singleplayer Witcher games coming and Sirius has the opportunity to stand alone as something properly novel, but it looks like it can't quite escape the last trilogy's legacy. Slightly troubling, however, is the fact that Sirius will also have a singleplayer campaign. Witchers might like to make their own potent brews, but they shouldn't be building houses and chopping down trees. The Molasses Flood also has experience when it comes to multiplayer, though its last game, Drake Hollow, is a co-op survival affair, and that's very much the opposite of the direction I'd like to see Sirius take. CDPR worked magic with Wild Hunt especially, but given how many projects it has on the go, and the state of Cyberpunk 2077 at launch, some new blood just makes a lot more sense. I'm also keen to see another developer take a crack at The Witcher. More magic, subterfuge and impromptu lute performances all sound like good ways to spice up a fight. Both of these setups demand that players embrace different roles, and while not every witcher is the same, with each school having their own way of doing things, I'd love to see some sorceresses getting some love. Unless I'm playing the monster, that is, because if my performance in Evolve and Dead by Daylight is anything to go by, I'm more of a level 1 boar than an intimidating boss.Įqually exciting is the prospect of playing a character that isn't a witcher. And since many of the Continent's menagerie are intelligent, having a human player controlling them should create some confrontations that are more true to the fiction-tense games of cat and mouse where victory is far from assured. You could spend your morning hunting down a thirsty vampire in Beauclair and then hop on over to a hag-infested Velen marsh in the afternoon. The wide range of settings and monsters would be a huge boon here, obviously. But maybe The Witcher: Sirius could be up to the task. I love me some Monster Hunter, but when it comes to making you feel like you're actually stalking a deadly creature, nothing can really match Evolve. Listening out for startled birds or looking for the carcasses left behind by its last trip to the buffet guided you towards your quarry. Tracking, for instance, played a significant role, as the large maps offered plenty of hiding spots for the monster. Nearly everything you'd need to make an entertaining Witcher PvP experience already existed within Evolve. This fits The Witcher like a blood-soaked glove. It was blessed with one of the most compelling yet straightforward multiplayer setups: you and a bunch of friends get dropped onto an alien world where you have to hunt down a monster, controlled by another player, who gets more and more deadly as the match progresses. Specifically, I'm thinking of Turtle Rock's tragically under-appreciated Evolve (RIP). Pure co-op might be my preference, but asymmetric PvP is another tantalising prospect. It's my solution to everything: every RPG could benefit from tabletop design philosophy. It could potentially open the door to encounters becoming more like puzzles, with each player taking charge of one part of the solution. Pure co-op might be my preference, but asymmetric PvP is another tantalising prospect.Ĭo-op would also give the devs more space to craft extra-challenging brawls and inspire a more tactical style of monster-slaying, even if it just means one Witcher acts as bait and the other sets up a nasty trap. Some of my favourite moments, particularly in tabletop games, have come from the party trying to figure out its approach to solving a conundrum or winning a tricky fight, especially since there's always one person who just suggests setting everything on fire. With two (or more) heads, The Molasses Flood could really lean into the more studious side of the monster-hunting career path, or at least make it a bit more involved than finding a very convenient tome containing all the relevant information on how to dispatch the current pest.
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