In the world of Emberville, you awaken in a home with no memory of how you got there. You step outside, only to be quickly killed by a sorcerer and mysteriously resurrected back inside your home. This is just the start of the fun and strange adventure I had in our Emberville preview.
Emberville puts players in the shoes of an amnesiac adventurer in an abandoned town. You don’t know who or where you are, but the one thing you do know is that you must press forward. You’ll quickly discover, in short order, just how dangerous the world of Emberville is.
Entering Emberville
The preview version of Emberville I played was short and limited; it can be completed in one to two hours at most. Still, it gave me a pretty solid insight into what Cygnus Games is going for with this game.
Each time you open a menu or try a new feature, it’s explained to you right away.
Emberville starts in an abandoned homestead with a bit of basic loot. There isn’t much to do in this first area other than explore and try to collect what items you can find so you have more than your fists to fight with.
As you head out into the world, you’ll encounter your first taste of combat while you work your way through a simple but thorough tutorial. Each time you open a menu or try a new feature, it’s explained to you right away. These can be a bit annoying in the middle of combat, but they’re helpful nonetheless.
Rucking Through Ruins
It isn’t long before you escape the wilderness and head into some mysterious ruins. This next area has substantially tougher enemies, more loot, and a handful of locked doors that you’ll need to open up.
It was fairly easy to fight through the first few monsters, but the enemies you encounter here are much tougher and much more punishing. Stand in the wrong spot for just a little too long, and you’ll find yourself stunlocked and rapidly dying. (Fortunately, death often means a quick respawn at the room’s start.)
Judicious looters will easily pick up a couple of different melee weapons, at least one bow, and at least one magic staff in this area. This gives you a taste of the different styles of combat in a fairly controlled environment.
You’ll also get the chance to test out some of the deeper features, such as unlocking your first class. Your gear determines your playstyle, in a sense, and it seems this will be further enhanced by your choice of class. Unfortunately, I was only able to choose a single class in the limited demo.
Ending a Bit Too Early
Eventually, you’ll reach a locked door that requires a “Spider Key.” As you might expect, you’ll get this key by fighting a gigantic spider the size of a horse carriage.
This first boss fight was punishing, to say the least. Several adds are in the fight at the beginning, and more can join in. Orange sacs can be consumed by the boss to restore its health, unless you have the sense to preemptively destroy them.
I ended up kiting this boss by using a bow. I can see how a talented melee player could win this fight, but I got most of my health bar melted when the boss stunned me. I quickly learned that trying to fight this thing in melee is a mistake.
I finally felled the spider after much trial and error. Grabbing the Spider Key for a chest, I fought my way back through the dungeon and unlocked the door, only to meet a mysterious old woman who promised to get me out of this hellhole.
Emberville Preview | Final Thoughts
The old lady took me to a portal that leads out of the dungeon, eventually depositing me in front of a giant crystal. A short cutscene later, and I’m back inside another empty house with not much to do other than loot.
I was looking forward to exploring more, so I popped outside. I met the local merchant, went to trade, and… the demo ended there, unfortunately.
The preview build of Emberville I played felt terribly short, but not in a bad way. I really wanted to dive in deeper and explore the world and the gameplay systems a lot more. I have a decent sense of the combat, but it feels like there’s so much more that I didn’t really get to sink my teeth into.
So, will Emberville be worth your time? After roughly 2 hours in an early preview build, I can tell you that combat is fun, and the gameplay systems seem to support a wide range of gameplay styles. I’m excited to play more when I can, and if this sounds like a game you’d like, you should keep an eye on it.
Emberville was previewed on PC via Steam with a code provided by the publisher for approximately 2 hours of gameplay. All images were taken during the preview process.
