All Articles: Shadow Realms

BioWare has been teasing out new trailers for their “You’ve Been Chosen” project for a few weeks now. We knew that the game was set in the modern day and centered on superpowers in some way, but the developer was saving the full reveal for Germany’s Gamescom event. Today, BioWare’s Austin team unveiled Shadow Realms, their new 4v1 RPG.

With its 4v1 structure, BioWare wants to make Shadow Realms resemble the pen-and-paper RPGs that many gamers grew up on. Four players will battle hordes of monsters as Hero characters while the fifth will control the Shadowlord, a evil mastermind who can set traps, possess monsters, and cast spells in opposition to the Heroes:

In Shadow Realms, Modern Heroes on Earth are being awakened and recruited, because of magical powers they never knew they had, to fight in a new and dangerous war against the Shadow Legions of Embra. The Shadow Legions, who have been battling on Embra for years against the members of the Radiant Empires, have gained new strength with the coming of a powerful, unknown force that we call the Shadowlords. And, they have just figured out how to leave Embra and invade Earth.

BioWare will release Shadow Realms episodically through EA’s Origin service, though a release date for the first episode wasn’t announced. Prospective players are encouraged to visit the game’s official website to sign up for a closed alpha test. Once you’re there, you can also read up on some behind-the-scenes secrets courtesy of the BioWare team.

BioWare has released another teaser trailer in their “You’ve Been Chosen” series of adverts ahead of the game’s Gamescom 2014 reveal next week. This one is titled “Impact” and it depicts a terrified girl whispering that something isn’t her fault over and over again. A quick cut later and we realize that she has somehow created a magical-looking sinkhole under her house. The trailer closes with this teaser’s tagline, which asks, “Can You Control Your Power?”

After careful consideration, I think we’re dealing with mutants here. Or possibly modern day folks dealing with mystical powers that they never knew existed. Something like that.

We’ll find out for sure next week during BioWare’s Gamescom presentation, which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, August 13 at 10:00 AM (Eastern Time). If you can’t make it to Cologne, Germany, BioWare will livestream the announcement on Twitch.

BioWare is continuing their “You’ve Been Chosen” series of teasers, ahead of a planned Gamescom 2014 reveal, with “Spark.”

The “Spark” trailer centers around a disturbed teen drawing circles in a diner while his phone keeps ringing. After the teen silences his phone for a third time, lightning begins raining down inside the diner. Finally, a hooded figure looks in on the teen and a tagline, “Do You Know They Are Watching,” flashes across the screen.

What does it all mean? I’m still leaning towards demons. BioWare will unveil exactly what we’ve been chosen for during this year’s Gamescom convention on Wednesday, August 13.

BioWare is still being awfully cagey about what direction Mass Effect 4 will take, but the developer is ready to lift the lid on their next project, an untitled game that has something to do with dreams and nightmares.

A trailer for the game (titled “Nightmare”) teases a bigger reveal at this year’s Gamescom convention, but first we met a terrified young man that is in some horrible dream. It might be gibberish, but a dream analyst would look at the images we’re shown and conclude that a broken lamp symbolizes misfortune or bad luck while the alleyway represents a journey into the unknown. The smoky room implies confusion and anxiety while a doppelganger represents a desire to recapture the past. Finally, light means an understanding or clarity has been reached.

So some sort of misfortune has lead this man on a journey that is confusing. But something in his past will lead to a better understanding of the future and his current situation. The trailer closes by asking “What really happens when we sleep?”, and stating, “You’ve been chosen.” Chosen for what? I’m going to go with demons. It’s usually demons.