GamesRPGSeekers of SkyveilSeekers of Skyveil convinced me the extraction genre isn’t just for shooters anymoreWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRPGSeekers of SkyveilSeekers of Skyveil convinced me the extraction genre isn’t just for shooters anymoreWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Elodie Games)
“If you look at tags on Steam, it just says ‘extraction shooter’ there’s no actual ‘extraction’ tag,” Athena Dai, the game’s technical game designer, points out in the first Seekers of Skyveildeveloper update video.“But I feel like that fundamental extraction game loop can do so much more.”
After playing a few matches alongside Dai, and several other developers from Elodie Games, I think she’s right. Seekers of Skyveil wraps the get-in-and-out structure of extraction games around MOBA-like team fights—there are no bases or towers to destroy—and the result is like nothing I’ve played before. Sure, you’re still cautiously roaming around a map with enemy teams out there somewhere doing the same thing, and, yes, the heroes, or seekers, slot right into the tank, healer, and damage dealer archetypes, but having the option to peace out at any time dramatically shifts your priorities.
Our three-person team (you can also play solo or with a partner) focused on killing easy little monsters as we made our way toward the middle of the map, where you’re more likely to run into other players. I stuck to Zuraya, a polearm-wielding lady who seems good at dashing after escaping players, for each match to get an idea of what it’s like to gradually improve one seeker. I found a blue-quality weapon early on that made a noticeably larger dent in enemy health bars than the one I bought from the shop before we dropped in. But the real impact, at least in these earlier stages of the game, seems to be the items like the smoke bomb that can shroud a sizable chunk of the map long enough to escape or reposition.
(Image credit: Elodie Games)
It’s worth noting that I was using WASD to move my character around and aiming abilities with my mouse. That was preferable for me to easily dodge out of attacks. I didn’t see an option to control the game like a MOBA with just your mouse, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Elodie plans on adding other control schemes in the future. That said, the direct control allowed me to backpedal and attack without having to do click-to-move stutter steps.
Taking risks and paying for it
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Elodie told me it wants combat to feel loose enough for the underdogs to win in surprising ways
Elodie told me it wants combat to feel loose enough for the underdogs to win in surprising ways
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I’d be lying if I said I really knew what was going on, but the fight lasted long enough that I think I could have figured it out after several more matches. It’s promising to see all the gaps in a fight where better players would be repositioning or readying a combo with their teammates. Elodie told me it wants combat to feel loose enough for the underdogs to win in surprising ways and to encourage players to actually want to fight each other instead of hoarding a bunch of gear for nothing. I don’t mind a competitive game where a new player could luck into beating an experienced one. Overwatch exploded in 2016 because of that unpredictability as everyone discovered what a shooter with asymmetrical hero abilities felt like. I hope Seekers of Skyveil can nail that goal because I can see it appealing to the sort of players who are okay with losing a match if the story of what happened was meaningful enough on its own.
(Image credit: Elodie Games)
For me, the seekers had enough complexity on their own that I was ready to jump in regardless of what gear I had.
For me, the seekers had enough complexity on their own that I was ready to jump in regardless of what gear I had.
For me, the seekers had enough complexity on their own that I was ready to jump in regardless of what gear I had. And that seems like the anchor Seekers of Skyveil needs if it wants people to be okay with occasionally having their power level reset. If it can keep matches short and the heroes exciting and adaptable enough to be fun at all levels of play, I think the sting of a loss won’t actually matter in the long run. You’ll leave with a story to tell and mistakes to watch out for on the next run.
Elodie’s focus right now is to get all sorts of players into its playtests to figure out what all of this should look like. You can sign up for those on itsSteam page.But even in this early stage, I can easily grasp what the team is going for with Seekers of Skyveil regardless of how complicated it is to describe it. It’s like a battle royale set on a MOBA map where you can opt out of the team fights as you learn and gear up enough to take on riskier parts of the map. Maybe you’ll see other players, maybe you won’t. It’s elastic in a way that the typical MOBA structure doesn’t allow, which gives it a strong chance at bringing in people who aren’t interested in a game that mostly hinges on your performance in its final moments. I’m one of them, and am still a little stunned at how well Seekers of Skyveil works as a new type of extraction game.
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