Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem

Lore & Background

Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem was originally revealed under the name 'Umbra' in 2015 and launched as a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $400,000 by over 11,000 backers. In 2016, it was announced the game would be renamed Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem while developer SolarFall Games would be renamed Wolcen Studio. The game's dark fantasy-themed storyline progresses across three acts, in which players explore procedurally-generated maps to battle hordes of monsters and collect valuable loot. The player is a member of the Army of the Purifiers along with two childhood friends, and has become part of operation Dawnbane to retaliate against the Brotherhood of Dawn which has attacked a mysterious fortress.

Reader's Guide

Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem received mixed reviews, with a Metacritic score of 60 out of 100 based on 25 critics as of June 2021. It was praised for appealing to veteran players of the action RPG dungeon crawler genre, offering less restrictive character customization, and focusing on high-quality graphics. Negative reviews largely cited major bugs on release and its unrealized potential due to derivative gameplay. IGN gave it a 'mediocre' 5 out of 10, noting that once major bugs are resolved, its clever ideas could let it compete with heavyweights of the genre, but that too much of the mayhem is caused by bugs to recommend it. The game's significance lies in its Kickstarter success and its attempt to innovate within the action RPG dungeon crawler genre, though its legacy is tempered by technical issues and mixed critical reception.

Did You Know?

• Its Kickstarter campaign raised more than $400,000 from over 11,000 backers.
• The developer was renamed from SolarFall Games to Wolcen Studio in 2016.
• IGN gave the game a score of 5 out of 10, calling it 'mediocre'.