Warcraft Meets Infinity Blade In Mobile RPG DawnBringer

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the mobile game market, you’ll know that Kiloo is one of its rising stars. It’s a little way off being the next Supercell, Rovio, or King, but at the same time, the studio and its collaborators aren’t leaning on the same worn and peddled formulas.

We can see this in their latest release, Dawnbringer – an action roleplaying game with some light open world elements that arrived on iOS and Android last month. It’s a complete departure from some of the games the Danish developer is best known for, including the Subway Surfers series.

That said, it carries the same aesthetic charm thanks to a colourful palette and meaty character designs. Looking the game up and down, Dawnbringer definitely gives off a World of Warcraft vibe and isn’t too far off Darksiders either.

After a small nugget of exposition, players are beamed down to the blighted kingdom of Mourngard. Overrun by warring demon factions, its gorgeous backdrops play host to one-on-one skirmishes between the game’s protagonist and the wandering foes they encounter. These duels are triggered whenever stepping within an enemy’s contact radius. Doing so will restrict all free movement, as players lock in stance and prepare to throw down.

If you’ve been playing mobile games for long enough then Dawnbringers’ combat system won’t exactly feel new. It’s the same reactive “parry and attack” model originally popularised by Chair Entertainment’s Infinity Blade. Although you’re free to swipe away at your opponent in a berserk rage, employing this tactic time and again won’t get you very far. True mastery comes from reading your opponent’s tells, watching the speed and direction of their blows before matching it with your own parry.

dawnbringer1

What’s refreshing about Dawnbringer are the little breaks you get between fights, which are largely optional themselves. If you’re tired of grinding against lesser demons, you can skirt around them with a little finesse or simply take time to soak in your surroundings, smashing the odd crate here and there as you explore the vibrant fantasy scenery.

As a free-to-play game, you can expect to see the usual hooks. In short, paying real money gets you where you need to go quicker. That said, Dawnbringer isn’t quite as aggressive as most games with its microtransactions. Whenever you launch the app, you’re dropped straight into the game world with no pop-ups to swat away or mandatory videos to watch.

Those mobile gamers looking for casual fantasy fun won’t be left disappointed. If anything, Dawnbringers hits the spot when it comes to five minute bursts of sword swinging. However, as with most free titles, it’s tough to predict if players will eventually hit a wall in their progress and be forced to buy in with real money.

Written by
Senior Editor bursting with lukewarm takes and useless gaming trivia. May as well surgically attach my DualSense at this point.