Somewhat short but definitely sweet, Starward Industries’ The Invincible is one of my favorite exploration games of recent times. Now it’s just revealed its next title, an “anti-combat” RPG that lets you battle the elements in an active volcano range. Once again oozing with style, Dante’s Ring is definitely getting on my wishlist.
From its glorious concept art all the way through to the intricate details on its retro-futuristic equipment, The Invincible really grabbed me with its visual presentation and delivered with a decent gameplay experience too. Dante’s Ring looks to be following suit, with a slick reveal trailer and some delicious screenshots setting up a fiery experience. The RPG asks you to step into the boots of an explorer investigating an extinct range of volcanos, but as the streams of lava clearly show, things don’t stay dormant for long.
Dante’s Ring is all about “rescue and survival using retro equipment,” similarly to The Invincible. Instead of pitting you against enemies in combat like most other RPGs, your enemy here is Mother Nature – you’ll be in a battle against the elements, having to navigate “raging fires and molten lava to powerful earthquakes.” While exploring you’ll try to unravel the mysteries behind the eruptions and natural phenomena you encounter, encounter people in need and make decisions on how (or if) you should save them, and solve puzzles. There appears to be a mixture of on-foot traversal and high-speed traversal in a really awesome-looking, propeller-driven speeder.
This really sounds like all the great elements of The Invincible are going to carry over to Dante’s Ring, but with the promise of this being more of an RPG, it’ll hopefully be a bit of a longer experience with a touch more depth. It also sounds as if your morals and choices will once again make an impact on the narrative. I’m already properly invested in this one, but we’ll all have to wait a little while to play it.
Dante’s Ring is scheduled to launch in early access at some point in 2025. If you want to join me in wishlisting it, learn more about it, or ogle some screenshots, head over to its Steam page here.
If this looks like your bag, or you enjoyed Starward’s work on The Invincible, check out some of the best story games and best single-player games on PC right now.
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