Disciples: Liberation – First Impressions

Catherine Daro August 14, 2021 News

Disciples: Liberation is the latest entry in the beloved turn-based fantasy series, developed by Frima Studio and published by Kalypso Media. The game is slated to arrive on October 21st, 2021, on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam & Epic Games Store.

Players can look forward to a mature, dark fantasy story that explores the a rich, beloved world. The developers describe the game as being very welcoming to the new players, since following Avyanna will ease them into Nevendaar, its lore and conflicts vs experiencing a number of campaigns told from various points of view.

Liberation seems to have a similar idea to King’s Bounty II, aiming to bring more role-playing elements to the game to make its story more memorable and the turn-based tactical part more meaningful. However, the way the title approaches it is very different from KB2.

The game features the same familiar isometric view used in the previous entries into the series as well as other staple turn-based RPG/strategy titles such as Heroes of Might & Magic and the previous King’s Bounty games.

Liberation also has a single protagonist, Avyanna, who starts the game as an ordinary mercenary before getting to a point where she gets to rub elbows with the mighty of Nevendaar.

Avyanna will be able to unlock four unique classes, each with its different abilities: Warlord, Hexblade, Seeress, or Witch. There is no option to multiclass but, if you get tired of your class or want to try something new, there is a way to reset.

Avyanna can equip a variety of gear that will affect her characteristics and also change her model accordingly. Additionally, she can learn spells from five various schools: Martial, Twilight, Dicine, Primal and Unholy. The other characters are much more limited both in terms of the gear and how flexible in their abilities they are. It pays off being a protagonist, right?

She can also spend talent points on three various trees: Combat, Nephilim and Magic.

She, alongside with her named companions, is fully voiced. It is up to you to decide who she will become through the choices you make on her quest. While the developers didn’t outright say there are multiple endings to this story, they didn’t deny it either when asked.

Avy is not bound to any one faction in particular, and in the roughly 80 hours of single-player narrative-driven campaign you will interact with the four of them: Legion of the Damned, the Undead Hordes, the Elven Alliance and the human Empire. Various quests will affect your reputation with a given faction, which, in return, will have an effect on just how many forces will join you and how effective they will be.

If you want to go full-on Legion of the Damned (or any other faction in particular), you can do that. But if you’d like to mix and match, the game offers that opportunity as well. One of the questions I got to ask the developers was if pissing a certain faction off by siding with others enough times will lock you out of interactions with them. The answer is no, the team wants players to make choices based on the provided options and their beliefs instead of figuring out min-maxing or worrying about annoying the Elves one time too many.

That said, it still feels impossible to reach maximum reputation with all four factions at once as the game seems to provide players with limited opportunities to earn their loyalty. So you will likely have to choose one or two regardless.

When it comes to the actual turn-based grid combat, Disciples: Liberation is closer to Might & Magic: Heroes 6 and the older King’s Bounty games than its legendary predecessor Disciples II. I have not played the Disciples III so I cannot draw the comparison there.

Avyanna, her named companions and her troops have their turn in battle decided by their initiative as well as a number of abilities to use, be it direct attacks, supportive spells or debuffs for enemy troops.

A new addition is an ability to place heroes or troops into the back line. That way, they cannot directly participate in combat but still offer a passive buff/debuff. It is also a great opportunity to level your low-level companions or troops before promoting them to the actual field.

Of course, much like all the tactical turn-based titles of late, Disciples: Liberation features a 3D grid with various effects that can hinder or help those who pass through them: mud to slow down melee troops, healing orbs that can turn the tide of battle. You can even push an enemy unit into a sphere that will damage them! So take your time to plan around the surroundings, it can make or break combat.

The game will also feature massive boss battles that made me remember Heroes 6 fondly – and with a shudder of anticipation.

The game has beautiful aesthetic and visual effects that make the world and characters around Avyanna come alive. However, I still have a similar gripe with Disciples: Liberation that I had with Might & Magic: Heroes 6 and 7.

Namely, despite being colorful and beautiful, it still looks kind of generic. Heroes 5 and Disciples 2 can be told apart from any other fantasy game just by their visual style. While sometimes breathtaking in their own way, Heroes 6 & 7 as well as Liberation can not claim the same.

To sum it up, Disciples: Liberation seems to be a real turn-based tactical gem when it comes to gameplay and the exact way it combines bits and pieces of various genres together. Despite the heavier RPG focus, the game still flows together smoothly and provides a lot of enjoyment.

Add in a player-driven darker narrative with the consequences for your choices, character development, building relationships with companions, building a base that consists of buildings from various factions?

Disciples: Liberation is going to be something special if players can look past it not being Disciples 2.

Note: a special beta build of the game has been played for the purposes of this article.

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