Moon Beast Productions studio was founded by Blizzard alumni who worked on the Diablo series — Philip Shenk, Peter Hu, and Erich Schaefer. Yesterday they announced fantasy action-RPG Darkhaven.
Post-Civilization World
The setting is a world after civilization's destruction. Ancient empires fell, their ruins captured by nature, monsters, and supernatural forces. Evil seeps into the world to feast on its remains. Players must save these lands from doom.
Solo, Co-op, and PvP Support
Darkhaven supports solo playthrough, co-op, and PvP. Locations are procedurally generated and boast high interactivity — you can dig earth, chew through fortress walls, drain lakes, redirect lava flows, and build settlements. Seasonal changes, dynamic weather, and world events are also promised.
Movement-Focused Combat
In the combat system, Moon Beast Productions aims to find balance between stat progression, build choice, and player skill. Heroes can jump, climb, swim, and dash. To defeat enemies, you must not only increase your stats but also maneuver skillfully and use the environment.
According to Co-founder and Creative Director Erich Schaefer, from the start they wanted Darkhaven to be fun to play. Movement is enjoyable. The ability to jump over attacks, climb rocks, dash away from danger, or swim across a lake potentially swarming with river fangs — all this changes how combat feels in games of this kind. It's no longer just numbers versus numbers but something far more engaging. Personal skills, sense of rhythm, and smart decisions in the moment matter more. Schaefer hasn't had this much fun creating and playing an action-RPG.
Diablo-Inspired Loot System
Local loot and progression systems are largely inspired by the first two Diablo games. According to developers, equipment in Darkhaven significantly affects builds rather than simply optimizing them through number increases. "If you find an unexpectedly powerful item — rejoice, it's not there by accident, and we won't nerf it," developers claim.
Built-In Mod Support
Finally, the Diablo-like is being developed from the start with modification support. The built-in editor allows introducing new items, monsters, classes, and quests in real-time — even during online play. Moreover, you can create your own ruleset for online worlds.
Darkhaven will launch in Steam early access. In the near future, Moon Beast will launch a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.
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