Belgian Game Spotlight - Black Legend
Welcome to a surprise new Belgian Game Spotlight! Normally we only cover one game per month, but this time we were blindsided with a Belgian release that emerged out of the fog from nowhere.
Black Legend is a dark, immersive Turn-Based Strategy RPG, set in 17th Century "Grant", a fictional location that could very easily be mistaken for one of Belgium's older cities. It's developed by Warcave, a studio from Geel whom you might remember from a previous spotlight: Hidden Through Time.
Before we continue, perhaps it's wise to first check out the trailer, to get a better feel for what kind of game we're dealing with:
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In Black Legend, you recruit a party of four mercenaries to venture forth and deal with the cult leaders, monsters and citizens turned evil by the fog. Enemies walk the streets and you can either try to avoid them or face them in turn-based combat on a grid.
You then take turns attacking each other with a wide range of abilities, which you can learn by equipping new weapons and changing to different classes. There is a very deep layer of tactical options available to the player and mastering them will mean the difference between utter defeat and emerging victorious at the end of the adventure.
You might have noticed that the game has a rather dark and grey aesthetic with a layer of fog covering the city of Grant. Story-wise, there is a perfectly good explanation for this, as the dark alchemist Mephisto created a madness inflicting fog that shrouds the streets and left the inhabitants dependant on an antidote to keep their sanity. It's up to you to restore the city and save the poor civilians.
What might add some charm for any Belgian players is the use of local lore. For instance, at a certain point, the game puts you up against “Nekkers”, which are a type of dog-like demons that, according to legend, drown their victims by dragging them underwater. People from the region of Mechelen may have wondered about where names like "Nekkerspoel" and "Nekkerhallen" came from and this should give some insights into its sinister origins.
It's a considerably lengthy experience that should last you a good while, especially in harder difficulties where obstacles such as permadeath may halt your progression. It has an interesting story to tell but the city of Grant steals the spotlight with its gloomy atmosphere and screams that echo through the streets at night.
If you're into strategy games and love deep RPG systems, you'll certainly find something to love in Dark Legend.
Sounds like this is right up your alley? Then be sure to buy a copy on your platform of preference. Black Legend is out as of today, March 25th, on all major platforms.
Want to keep up-to-date on the game and the studio? Here are a few places you can follow them:
We hope you've enjoyed this feature article and if you're a Belgian game developer yourself, don't be afraid to reach out and maybe we'll spotlight your game next month!