Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Are you looking for a new action hack-and-slash rpg? Perhaps one you can play on your own or with up to three other friends? Well, perhaps you'd also take an interest in Coridden!
Coridden is a nifty hack-and-slash adventure in a fantasy setting. A group of four siblings setting out together, or one on their own, Corriden has that feeling of an older school fighting and looting adventure, but with a nifty twist. Turns out our intrepid heroes and heroines can shapeshift! That's right, that big panther like creature? You can be that creature. And your friends can ride you! No, I'm not rephrasing that.
Coridden has a lot of the traditional 3D hack and slash mechanics, with levels, skill trees, and lots of equipment. You also have a stamina bar that depletes when you attack, both for your human and creature form. You can swap between forms as you explore or fight enemies in order to get an advantage. In combat, both your human and monster forms have both melee and ranged attacks that behave differently, so you can switch between forms to both manage stamina and choose an attack method that works better for the situation.
When you're exploring, there are gaps to jump across, treasure to find, and objects in the areas to interact with. Sometimes a human is just a little too slow, so you need a faster creature to make the jump. Other times you may come across a mechanism that needs to be powered with electricity, or branches that need to be burned. It's really cool seeing different interactable environments like this.
There are multiple different weapon types and beast skills that you can either earn, find, buy, or learn through skill trees. Each different weapon and creature feels, even if the creatures at the moment are primarily of a similar type. Spears and swords act very differently than if you had a sword and shield equipped. Single handed weapons can also be doubled up for dual wielding if you'd prefer damage output over defense. Skills work based on cooldown and stamina, and since stamina recovers over time, this means you'll never be without options, especially when exploring. You also have heavy attacks you can charge as well, making an interesting dance between light and heavy moves while conserving stamina.
Combat is mostly smooth, although I do have a few minor issues with it. Attack direction is based on where your mouse cursor is, which can get a little frustrating if you go to attack an enemy with a melee, and are slightly off you'll end up missing, or if your cursor is sitting away from where you want to attack because you forgot, you may end up attacking backwards. This brings up an interesting point in that you actually do have different attacks and dodges based on the direction your cursor is indicating.
The ranged attacks work pretty well, and if you have your cursor on an enemy your character tends to home on the enemy. The little dragonfly type enemies can be frustrating for this, but they do give good practice. Also, your dodge is less of a "dodge" and more of a "shift in another direction". Some attacks from enemies may require jumping over or strategic positioning.
In addition to your story mode, there are missions of varying levels available for you and friends to play. In the current build there are just Nest Destruction and Defense options, but I'm hopeful that more types will be introduced. In another handy aspect, there is a sort of 3D like map available that notes where you've been by colouring it in a lighter colour, and every new area you do have a general map for, as well as points of interest.
Coridden is definitely a unique game that I'm really interested in. The way that co-op is handled is a really cool concept, especially riding your friends in beast form, and the combat and swapping between forms mid fight feels really smooth. I'm really looking forward to seeing where Coridden goes and what it has in store. It definitely has the potential to be something really fun.
Score: N/A
