With a new approach to character development, Undecember wants to become a rival to Diablo 4. What else does the Korean title have to offer?
The Kingdom Action-RPGistan, on a balmy spring day. The whole kingdom is eagerly awaiting the coming of their new regent Diablo 4. But what the common rabble does not suspect: numerous other titles also covet the throne and want to overthrow the prospective king before he has even taken his seat properly.
One of these contenders goes by the name of Undecember, comes from Korea and might have flown under the radar for many genre fans until now. On the occasion of its planned release in the West, we took a closer look at the title for you and explain what it hopes to do to conquer the hearts of discerning people.
You can get a first impression of the setting and the beautiful graphics in the gameplay trailer:
Table of Contents
13 Gods are one too many
The world called Draum could be a really nice, peaceful place. It was for a long time, and it was after the awakening of the twelve deities who were born from the light, which in turn sprang from the darkness. Do you find this confusing? Then wait and see, there is more!
The deities created offspring and lived peacefully among them. But some time after the arrival of the twelve gods, another god called Serpens suddenly awoke. And since the number 13 is known to stand for misfortune, the newcomer fulfilled all expectations in this respect and now covers the world with all kinds of evil creatures.
Your task as a hero or heroine is therefore clear: you set out to give Serpens a good talking to and, on the way to him, to make his henchmen a head shorter.
What makes Undecember special?
Basically, Undecember is an action role-playing game with a high hack-&-slash factor. So you run around in the isometric camera perspective, have conversations with NPCs, explore dungeons and perform skills to defeat your enemies. A big difference compared to Diablo and other action RPGs is the class system, or rather its non-existence.
In Undecember, the developer Needs Games wants to give you the greatest possible freedom with your character and therefore does without fixed role classifications such as warrior, Amazon and wizard. Instead, you can change and specialise your hero’s equipment and abilities as you wish. Although there are three subdivisions of skills – strength, dexterity and intelligence – it is up to you how you combine them.
Creating your own character build works by using runes, which are divided into ability runes and bridge runes. While the former unlock new abilities, the latter enhance their effects based on their quality level, which you can further improve with collectible materials. You can obtain the runes by simply farming or completing quests.
The developers advertise that thanks to the rune system, there are almost infinite combination possibilities. However, this freedom is likely to stand or fall with the game balance: If, due to weaknesses in balancing, a single correct build emerges in order to be victorious, even the greatest flexibility would be reduced to absurdity.
And what is there to do? After all, the best character build is useless if you can’t smack anyone with your newly acquired or freshly improved skills. That’s why Undecember sends you through a main story divided into acts. In the endgame, the so-called chaos dungeon awaits you, and there will also be large boss raids for up to eight players.
Speaking of players, of course Undecember also has a PvP component. It’s called the Crusade of Glory and it’s basically a deathmatch, so it’s everyone against everyone. Those who prefer to fight with each other rather than against each other can join a guild and benefit from exclusive advantages.
Battle Pass and in-game store included: The biggest catch for many interested parties could be Undecember’s monetisation model. The game will offer a Battle Pass with valuable in-game items. In addition, cosmetic items and other content will be available for purchase in a store for real money. Whether the assortment has earned the predicate Pay-to-Win, we cannot find out at the moment.
Who is Undecember suitable for?
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but we’ll say it anyway: If you don’t like action role-playing games that are heavily focused on loot and thus discreetly grind-heavy, the free-to-play Undecember is unlikely to win your heart. In addition, you have to reckon with the fact that the in-game store would like to encourage you to spend real money.
Of course, the reverse is also true: If you’re already eagerly awaiting Diablo 4, have already explored all the dungeons, churches and corridors in Diablo 2: Resurrected and are currently blissfully wandering around Lost Ark, Undecember might also be worth a look.
The visual similarity to the competition, which also comes from Korea, is no coincidence. Under the banner of the studio Needs Games, former developers of Lost Ark have joined forces to realise their own vision of a hack and slay game.
When is this coming out?
Undecember first launched exclusively in Korea on 13 January 2022. However, a release in the West is still planned for 2022. The title will be playable on the PC as well as on Android and iOS smartphones, also via crossplay, i.e. across platforms.
Undecember can currently be added to the wish list at (Steam). It remains to be seen whether the game will also be offered in other stores on the PC. On the (official website) interested parties can already register in advance in order to be able to start playing directly at the western launch of the game.
Editor’s verdict
At first glance,
Undecember looks like the umpteenth clone of Diablo and in view of the release window, which is close in time to the EU version of Lost Ark, one could almost speak of a copy in terms of the visuals. Thanks to the open character system, however, the developers have an arrow in their quiver that sets them apart from their competitors.
It is precisely this free design of my hero that could be the missing component that has so far always kept me from spending more time with Diablo and co. than I need to complete the main story. As a warrior, I don’t want to be limited to swords and axes, but also want to whip out the spell book or send a volley of arrows at my opponents. If the build system in Undecember is really as free as advertised, I will definitely take a look as soon as it is released here.
My worry lines, on the other hand, get bigger when I hear the terms Battle Pass and in-game store. Too many essentially good games have already failed due to aggressive monetisation, and Korean titles have a certain reputation in this regard. Lost Ark also had to be toned down for the West in this respect. Let’s hope that Undecember gets the same treatment, otherwise the cool character system could go down without a sound.
Article, Undecember, Preview, Specials, PC, Action role-playing game, Roleplaying game
