Gamescom opened with a bang for RTS fans, with a minute-long video showing off a ton of new Stormgate Infernal Host content, including gameplay!
It was great to see what the team has been working on and we’ll break down exactly what was shown off below.
Infernal Host Unique Mechanic: Shroud
We have to kick things off by talking about the Infernal Host’s unique mechanic, Shroud. It’s briefly covered in the video as “fields of dark magic that strengthen their [the Infernals] armies” and we see the Shroud quickly expand around a structure.
Frost Giant have expanded on this further, stating “Shroud is a dark, swirling field of magic energy produced by key Infernal structures, allowing for powerful Rituals to be cast and providing significant advantages to any Infernal units within it.”
This means that Shroud is somewhat similar to the Undead’s Blight in Warcraft 3, but it looks like at least some buildings can be built anywhere on the map. It expands from buildings and will provide friendly Infernal units some advantages, however, the specifics of this have not been revealed yet.
We’ll have to see how the mechanic performs in-game once the Infernal Host hits testing, although it definitely seems like there are a ton of tactical elements to Shroud. Unlike Starcraft’s Zerg creep it requires workers to construct buildings, so it’s not something that will be spammed out on the map. However, depending on how powerful it is, it may encourage skirmishes and positional battles on the map to mitigate the number of Shroud-providing structures.
All in all, it definitely looks like a promising mechanic and is something that very much differentiates the Internal Hosts from the Human Resistance. We can’t wait to see more of the faction!
New Infernal Host Units: Brute and Fiend
Alongside the details of Shroud, we also saw two new Infernal Host units, as well as some more details on the Imp worker.
First, we saw the Brute, a large two-headed demon holding a large sword. It looks quite beefy and has an ability that lets the Brute sacrifice itself to summon two Fiends. This simple unit already provides a tactical element and a way for players to show off their skill – players can sacrifice the Brute at any time to summon the Fiends, meaning highly skilled players will be able to soak up as much damage as possible and sacrifice the Brute at very low health.
The other new unit is the Fiend. It’s unclear if this unit can be trained by itself or if it only comes from the Brute’s sacrifice ability, however it does have an interesting design either way. It’s a fast-moving and fast-attacking creature on two legs – seemingly the opposite of the Brute, which is a bulky and slow unit. The Fiend also features a very satisfying jaw-snapping sound with its bite attack.
Last but not least is the Imp, the Infernal Host worker unit. We learned about them a while back, but now we also got a look at their ability. The Imp is able to ignite itself and trigger a fiery explosion which does damage in a large area.
The Chainsmokers & Gaming Legends Helping Create Stormgate’s Soundtrack
Following the Infernal Host reveals, the video went on to talk about Stormgate audio. The team was excited to share that Grammy award-winning EDM DJs and producers the Chainsmokers are advising on the game’s soundtrack.
However, the exciting news for the soundtrack and audio doesn’t stop there. Both Tracy W. Bush, who worked on Starcraft and Warcraft 3’s soundtrack, and Frank Klepacki, who is famous for his work on the Dune 2 and Command & Conquer soundtracks, are working on Stormgate.
Beyond soundtracks, the team also shared that voice talent from RTS classics will be featuring in Stormgate. However, exactly who that is and what roles they’ll be playing is something that we’ll have to wait to find out.
Overall, this update shows that there’s a lot to get excited about for Stormgate, from unique gameplay mechanics and a look into the second faction, to some big names working to make the audio side of Stormgate epic!
