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[Hawkian]

So I guess this game has no OT. Sorry if I should have called it somewhere.

From Reddit.

Quotes: (first video)

Fuck your game, it's fucking fun!

FORCED is far more ambitious than it seems at first glance.

On sale on Steam for twelve dollars.

Or, if you get a 4-pack, $9 each.

So this game is designed for and much more fun in co-op. Who better to cooperate with you than three other people with $9? No one. That's just science.

Metacritic

Not enough (or really any) mainstream publications or sites have done reviews yet, seriously

Official site is here with a few videos.

Rockpapershotgun's description of the version pre-Kickstarter is here, but it's a bit dated in some regards. There is some kind of singleplayer campaign at least, I guess.

Co-Optimus gave it a positive review with a 4/5 overall and 5/5 for the co-op component.

GamingTrend also liked it with an 85%.

Gameplay

The game is broken up into individual arenas or levels, each with an objective to beat and some with bosses. These have secondary challenge objectives and even bonuses for speed clears. It's all extremely skill-based: no loot, no XP, no, levels. There are skill points of a sort, and you can unlock skills and choose which to equip based on the mission.

There are 4 classes, determined by weapon type:

• High-DPS Daggers
• Slow, tanky Hammer
• Supremely supportive Shield
• Ranged-precision Bow

This isn't tied to your character, though, and you can switch between them in between levels at any time.

Enemy types are unique and have predictable but clever AI to contend with. Level layouts will often be restrictive and have to be navigated to succeed. This is a high emphasis on knowing the enemy types, reaction time, and using the right approach with the Spirit Mentor.

The Spirit Mentor is a little hard to describe (especially how it works in co-op), but basically it's a little orb that you can order around and is the only thing that can interact with certain level elements. Winning is often tied to just using the Spirit Mentor properly while staying alive. In co-op, all players can control the single orb, so it is crucial to work together.

This is the official description:

1-4 player co-operation
Play a great singleplayer campaign or gather your friends to defeat even the greatest foes in the Arena. Play online and with your friends in a couch, both mouse/keyboard and controllers works great!

Tactical Choices & Skills
Experiment with your combat style and choose the deadliest combinations as you progress in the arenas.

The Spirit Mentor
A completely new and innovative cooperative mechanic. The Spirit Mentor is essentially an extra team member with special powers, which the players must control in unison.
Enemies

Face smart enemies who work together to destroy even the most skilled players.

I don't have any gifs or anything, but here are some shots:

Seriously, if you have a spare 10 dollar bill and like the sound of a co-op (local or online, m/k or controller) action RPG, why not check it out.

 

[wanders]

Local Co OP? SO BOUGHT

 

[Relix]

Local Co OP? SO BOUGHT

Bought it because of their story... and game looks fun. Will couch co op play tomorrow!

 

[Finaika]

Nice story.

 

[Hawkian]

I keep hearing this story. How about some stuff about the game?

Yes, I know it's co-op.

I put a bit more into the post. Sorry boogy. Their website has a couple videos. This is some extra stuff like art and whatever if you're into that.

There is very little material available in terms of press, and even first party marketing. They used some of their budget to put together the ads they do have up I'm sure. This is their youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/betadwarf there are a few videos and you can get an idea of gameplay to some degree... but I'd bet like most co-op it's a little tough to get a sense of through video.

Looks like fun though. Best way I can think of getting some impressions about it right now is to make some.

 

[Durante]

I thought this didn't even have a thread, just googled it. Anyway, not really the amount of information here I'd have wanted.

I'll be buying the game and playing it for probably around 6 hours in local 2-player co-op next Friday, so I'll be able to post somewhat informed about it by then -- if no one else picks up the torch.

Co-optimus liked it, with 4/5 overall and 5/5 co-op score.

 

[Hawkian]

I thought this didn't even have a thread, just googled it. Anyway, not really the amount of information here I'd have wanted.

I'll be buying the game and playing it for probably around 6 hours in local 2-player co-op next Friday, so I'll be able to post somewhat informed about it by then -- if no one else picks up the torch.

I'm happy to add more info as it comes to light but there just isn't much material yet, nor had I played much at all yet. If you can elucidate what would be best to include for a title like this I would be grateful and try to improve it.

I've played up to the first boss now solo and it's a lot of fun. Everything seems pretty well thought-out mechanically. The controls are not at all what I expected (sort of reminiscent of Smash TV, at least on controller), but very tight and satisfying when you get the idea.

Unfortunately, they appear to be having some network issues which is pretty crucial for this experience. While local co-op seems to work just fine, I'd had a lot of trouble joining rooms through the server browser and so on, so you might want to hold off until they have patched it. I'll update with any news as it comes.

 

[Kiriku]

So... what do you actually do in the game? Is it like Diablo, or is it more puzzled oriented? Do you get loot? Do you choose between classes, characters or something? Didn't really become clear to me in the video.

 

[Hawkian]

So... what do you actually do in the game? Is it like Diablo, or is it more puzzled oriented? Do you get loot? Do you choose between classes, characters or something? Didn't really become clear to me in the video.

So, I've only played about 5 "levels," but it's it's definitely more puzzle-oriented than something like Diablo or any typical "dungeon-crawler." There is no loot. There are 4 classes, determined by a weapon type with all different skills, but you can choose to switch up your class in between levels at will so it's not tied to your character.

You do get a sort of skill tree with unlocks and have to choose what to equip (and can only equip a limited number per level).

The levels themselves are like skill-based arenas and even have secondary challenges/objectives and rewards for speed-clears. Will add this description to the OT

 

[confuziz]

Any new impressions from people? I need a new co-op game and this looks like fun.

 

[Keasar]

Trying to convince a bunch of my friends to get this, I am really interested in a new co-op game.

Also their story is wonderful, love the picture.

 

[Rokal]

I've played through about 3 hours of this so far with a friend and it's been pretty great. I would have never guessed it was made under the circumstances in the OP based on the final product.

Each level has 3 gems you can earn for it, with your total number of gems gating off new levels and new abilities/passives for characters. The first gem is just for beating the level. The second gem is a level-specific challenge (on a level with poison mist the challenge was to not get hit by any, etc.). The third is to beat it within a certain time.

We got all 3 gems in all the levels associated with/including the first boss, and it was enough time to see the different strengths and how some levels encourage you to use different characters.

Not sure how long it is, but so far I'm pretty happy with the purchase and it's been great for co-op. It sounds like it's selling okay too (they just posted about having to purchase more server hardware), and based on the OP, who doesn't like a happy ending?

On a side note, I have 2 Steam copies left from a 4-pack. If you want one of them for $9, PM me.

 

[AkuMifune]

Great story! Have been interested in this and will support them when I can.

 

[confuziz]

I've played through about 3 hours of this so far with a friend and it's been pretty great. I would have never guessed it was made under the circumstances in the OP based on the final product.

Each level has 3 gems you can earn for it, with your total number of gems gating off new levels and new abilities/passives for characters. The first gem is just for beating the level. The second gem is a level-specific challenge (on a level with poison mist the challenge was to not get hit by any, etc.). The third is to beat it within a certain time.

We got all 3 gems in all the levels associated with/including the first boss, and it was enough time to see the different strengths and how some levels encourage you to use different characters.

Not sure how long it is, but so far I'm pretty happy with the purchase and it's been great for co-op. It sounds like it's selling okay too (they just posted about having to purchase more server hardware), and based on the OP, who doesn't like a happy ending?

On a side note, I have 2 Steam copies left from a 4-pack. If you want one of them for $9, PM me.

So you would recommend it to people that love co-op games like Portal, Lara croft and the guardian of light, diablo, torchlight etc? =)

 

[Durante]

I played a few hours of this in 2-player co-op yesterday, and it was surprising.

I expected more of a diablolike romp, but it's really not. The game is split into rather small challenges, but each of those is interestingly designed. In particular, I didn't expect some of the pretty awesome co-op puzzles in the game, which apparently also scale to the number of players.

The main mechanic of positioning and passing around the "spirit mentor" (or power puck as I'd call it) is rather novel, and they make good use of it in both the combat gameplay and the puzzles.

I'd say the game is totally worth it for everyone who wants to play it in co-op.

 

[PeterVenkman]

Just picked this game up on a Steam Flash Sale and had a great (mostly) session of 4 player local play. 4 friends running through levels was great and sinking our teeth into the active and passive skills made it feel like a more involved Gauntlet game. Plenty of fun was had with "Dr. Ball" (our affectionate nickname for the spirit mentor) - "calling the ball" was a chaotic mess in a great way.

We did have a hell of a time using non-xbox 360 controllers, specifically the Razer Onza and the Logitech G310 (in combination with two wired 360 controllers). At best, one player had their LB (an active ability) combined with the X button (the "call spirit" button) - this proved very problematic during ball puzzles. At worst, certain controllers just didn't work. No amount of controller binding or game resetting helped - the problem just got passed onto a different player. I did read on the community hub that controllers had been giving the game some problems, but a recent patch mentioned a fix for gamepads.

All in all, I'd recommend this game if you wanna play online or local co op, just be wary about the controllers.

 

[JaxJag]

Is this game worth buying!

$7,49 on Steam right now...

 

[5amshift]

Awesome story! I want to support these guys on that alone.

 

[RedSparrows]

Necrobump of doom. Got this on Xbone cos I was like why not. Really cool little game, feel like it deserves a little sunshine.

 

[RedSparrows]

2nd Necrobump. Playing this quite a lot with a chum, and I really like it. If you have a friend who likes co-op and skills and teamwork and a bit of a challenge, and you see it cheap on console or PC, I recommend.