No, we didn’t sneeze while typing the word “extraction” in that headline; that’s literally the kind of game sub-genre that Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem developer Wolcen Studio gave to its in-development new game Project Pantheon, which not only has a dumb categorization but also a dumb and possibly confusing (albeit temporary) name that’s sure to leave it buried by search engines when stacked against another MMORPG.
So just what is this game? Here’s the elevator pitch from the studio’s press release, and brace for some more goofy marketing buzzwords:
“Codenamed Project Pantheon, it is the first-of-its-kind: an ExtrAction RPG that offers a blend of intense Hack n’ Slash action and high-stakes extraction gameplay in a dark fantasy world filled with fantastical reimaginings of historical mythologies.”
This free-to-play title will drop players into the aforementioned dark fantasy world as they explore maps, fight for loot in PvPvE combat, and attempt to leave with their gains to bring back to their private fort, where base upgrades, custom loadouts, and equipment or trading of gear can happen. Those who don’t manage to leave alive could see some of their gear drop for good. All of this should sound familiar to regular readers as we’ve seen many PvPvE extraction games cropping up in the last few years.
Project Pantheon is headed for its first closed alpha test, which runs between January 25th and 26th for EU players and February 1st and 2nd for NA players. Content promised for this test includes the game’s first map, a rudimentary but functional first version of the player fort hub, and the weapon-specific “soft class” system. Characters will be pre-made, however. Players who are interested in adding their name to the draw simply have to register on the game’s site.
It’s here that we feel it important to point out Wolcen Studio’s history within our genre, specifically for its flagship OARPG Wolcen, which was tanked by its last major patch according to our columnist Tyler and also ripped out multiplayer wholesale when it entered maintenance mode last year. So perhaps bear that behavior in mind when pondering your interest in this “ExtrAction RPG” as you watch the video below.
