New release: The Drop

I know what you’re thinking. “They finally did it: someone went out there and made a dubsteb RPG.” Great guess! But nope. “The Drop” refers not to the musical term, but rather to a new roguelike created by TildeOne Games.

Well, okay, maybe not exactly new: the Drop was released in mid-August, though it did receive a major update two weeks ago.

The premise:

Fifteen Years Ago: The world trembled. Civilization was leveled on a global scale. An opportunist known only as The Lord-God used his si’shra armies to raze and control what was left, commanding from atop the stone tower that raised from the part of the sea over an area of ocean known as the Drop.

Five Years Ago: A guild of forgotten heroes returns unannounced, eventually toppling the madman’s regime and bringing about The Third Reconstruction as society reforms.

Six Months Ago: The Drop collapses in upon itself, leaving a gaping, seemingly-bottomless hole in the ocean. Curious adventurers from around the world gather to see the depths for themselves. Early reports tell of a strong magical pervasion, granting even those unskilled in elemental arts the ability to wield magic, and of segments of land and even living creatures from other parts of the world suddenly appearing within.

The Drop relegates permadeath and line-of-sight mechanics to an optional “hardcore mode,” so you can play the game as something less than a full roguelike if you wish. Other interesting features include detailed character creation (with options for “race, appearance, starting weapon, elemental alignment, perks, and a background”), and Body / Mind / Soul stats in lieu of hit points and magic points.

You can get a sense of the game from its release trailer:

After watching that, you might be surprised to know that The Drop was actually created in RPG Maker. (From what I can see, it looks like they redid pretty much everything except for the spell effects.)

The Drop is free; download it here. Windows only.