Are you looking for a 2.5D crafting experience to play with your friends? Has modded Minecraft lost its appeal? If so, Delverium may be the answer to your prayers.
Delving Right In
You begin your Delverium journey on a quiet spot of land. A lone NPC tells you that you need to build him a house before he can help you, and thus you quietly begin your life in this dangerous new world. Zombies roam the overworld; necromancers lurk in the mines; but there’s an opportunity to find resources at every turn.
Exploration and crafting sit at the core of your gameplay loop. Similar to Minecraft and Terraria, Delverium rewards brave adventurers with rarer resources and angrier mobs. You then return to base to craft better gear and other supplies before setting off for more.
Access Granted
Although still in Early Access, there’s already a lot to explore. Multiple biomes hold different enemies and resources, and the roadmap already promises more to find and uncover. There are even enemies that have a chance of dropping rare armour sets for you to farm and different cosmetic items to uncover.
The mines make up a sub-floor that covers the entire map, with a secondary level holding rarer materials. Exploring these caves is key to progression, as you use them to bypass water to reach other biomes. I also uncovered a dungeon, which suggests the mines also contain different biomes.
Some things still feel missing, while others feel more fleshed out. For example, I’d like to see more crafting options, specifically things to decorate your homestead with. However, the crafting utility, with the ability to take from nearby chests and craft instantly, makes for an incredibly streamlined experience.
Multiplayer Chaos
We jumped in with three players and had a lot of fun in Delverium. The mines were still challenging, even with grinding for gear and healing items, and we managed to stick together for the most part. Some tougher enemies still gave us trouble, but it made managing waves of mobs easier.
Delving Deeper
I had no running errors and managed to stream a multiplayer Delverium game with no issues. The ability to switch between keyboard and controller makes it really easy to play the way that suits you best. So far, the accessibility options aren’t huge, but the tileset design makes it possible in the future.
The pixel art used for the sprites isn’t especially unique or special, but it does the job well. The animation of subtle things like trees and grass swaying in the wind really elevates the design. Even the music is relaxing when you’re exploring, but it shifts quickly as danger approaches.
World quests and NPCs suggest a deeper story at play. I expect this will be expanded in the 1.0 release, but their inclusion is promising. It is more on the scale of Terraria quests, but the inclusion of a journal and quest tracker is welcomed.
Ready For Launch
Delverium is already a fully realised and enjoyable experience, with more improvements planned based on Early Access feedback. The co-op and crafting mechanics, combined with the ability to transfer your characters over, allow it to stand firmly alongside other survival–crafting games. It’s certainly worth checking out if you enjoy Minecraft or Terraria.
I’ll keep a close eye on this one and look forward to the full release.
Platforms: PC
Publishers: Sagestone Games
Developers: Sagestone Games
Played On: Steam
Key Provided By: Keymailer, PressEngine, Sagestone Games
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