Indie game developer Tom Nemec publishing as Datablob on STEAM is proud to announce new details about his upcoming release of highly anticipated and popular action-roguelite survivors’ shooter Black Dragon Mage, scheduled for an official worldwide release on PC via STEAM in March of 2024.
About the game
Players assume the role of a lone mage, pitted against innumerable demonic hordes.
Stranded in the Desert of Legion, after a teleportation scroll accident, the mage fights for survival. Armed with a varied elemental magic arsenal and a pick of up to three unique spells each run, the goal is to survive and beat the odds.
Players can even hatch their very own dragon companion from an egg and ride it into battle as their ultimate weapon.
Inspired by recent indie hits such as Vampire Survivors, 20 Minutes Till Dawn, Death Must Die, Brotato, ARPGs á la Diablo, and Path of Exile, as well as classics from the SNES era – including a bomb mechanic inspired by Bomberman, Black Dragon Mage is a gorgeous fantasy-themed, top-down, action-roguelite shooter of the bullet-heaven subgenre.
Black Dragon Mage can be experienced today in a free playable demo now available via STEAM and yet another updated demo will be released during the STEAM NextFest (Feb 5th). In the current demo, players have the chance to explore two exciting environments (The Desert of Legion & Graveheart Hollow), and four of the main weapons are unlocked; players are allowed to upgrade their element of choice: Fire, Ice, Void, and Lightning. Several meta upgrades can be purchased in the Hall of Relics as a form of rogue-lite progression and combined by players on each new run.
This could be a chance to let enemies turn into explosive mines upon their demise, an ancient relic that boosts health upon level-up, and of course, a stylish clothing item for the protagonist. For instance, the “invisible hat” adds a chance to dodge incoming attacks and reveals the charming unkempt hairstyle of our protagonist.
More info and features
Black Dragon Mage is an easy-to-learn, yet hard-to-master and challenging game with snack-sized sessions leaving players with the “just one more round” feeling. Since you can upgrade your mage & weapons on every level-up and pick a unique combination of ARPG-style abilities, every run is bound to feel different in interesting ways. Every death is a new opportunity to experiment and improve your skills.
As a standout feature, the epic dragon companion takes on the energy of the main staff and serves as an ultimate attack. The dragon can be summoned temporarily, provided the mana bar is full from copious potion-chugging, and serves as an ace up your sleeve for sticky situations, such as being cornered by the hordes or trapped in a mosh pit of bullet hell projectiles and mobs.
While airborne, mobs cannot reach the mage nor dragon – although projectiles still pose a serious threat.
Besides the unique dragon-riding ultimate attack, combat centers around player agency – attacks are manually aimed and players manage their ammo and timing carefully, similar to an ARPG. Spells can be defensive, magical, and offensive in nature and cast either on foot or dragonback. Managing up to three spell cooldowns whilst dodging enemies and other hazards in the midst of epic, horde-survival combat makes for exhilarating multi-tasking chaos.
Black Dragon Mage is available to Wishlist or Play via Steam
