Jack of Embers is a third person, mystery, beat 'em up game. Players take on the role of Jester, a vagrant in New York City with the ability to control and create fire. The world as we know it has been split into two factions, people who believe elementalism ( the ability to control the elements) is a gift (rebels) and those who believe it is a curse (loyalists). These two factions are fighting a war in the shadows.
Jester is recruited after a series of events to the Rebel group and is taken to their only city, Hope, in the centre of an eternal sandstorm near the centre of the Sahara. Jester is taken there to study elementalism following in the footsteps of a father he never knew. In Hope the boundaries of elementalism are pushed as people seek to understand its origins and the power behind it for better or worse and Jester is no exception.
Jack of Embers is designed to be played using a controller using a system similar to those found in fighters with button combinations creating special moves, each character in the game controls one of four elements. Fire, earth, water and lightning drawn from the classical Greek elements (with the fifth aether becoming more relevant as the story progresses). Almost all moves will be available from the beginning of the game however players they will be hidden to the play and so players will have to figure out moves through trial and error or by being taught them as the game progresses.
The combat is movement heavy as Jester employs a momentum heavy fighting style, aiming to have a lot going on during a fight while retaining clear attack patterns levelled at the player. To accentuate this good use of dodging will allow the player to perform strong counter attacks and damage output will increase the longer a player can keep a combo going.
Players will be able to freely explore extensive above ground map of the city using a variety of parkour techniques and also delves into the labyrinth of tunnels beneath it which hide many secrets. Complementing this missions away from the city will be included as part of Jesters training to offer a diversity of levels beyond the free roaming areas that most of the story will play out in.
While the fighting is a core part of the game the true objective is solving the mysteries the world has to offer by searching the city and interacting with its inhabitants to learn about a rich lore and deep story line that crosses the boundaries of the present world the player recognises into an entirely different world beneath. The game offers some structure to progression through a day system in which players can only follow a certain number of leads per day, with Jester needing to sleep at some point (though whether this is day or night is up to the player). Player's primary story progression is by chasing up leads to the strange goings on and uncovering clues. The story progression is powered primarily by clues and the number of days passed however the world size coupled with the number of tasks available vs those that can be completed in a day should keep players constantly seeing fresh tasks and new places to explore.
During the majority of the game Jack of Embers aims to keep an air of mystery about it at all times, encouraging the player to formulate hypothesis as to how the story will pan out. The goal of the game is to create a deep living world that players feel really is there and then to let them see under the skin of that world to the darker workings that haunt the city. Even when the city is bright and cheerful players should feel the looming mysteries plaguing the city hiding in the shadows and around each corner encouraging players to take the road less travelled to. Players will be encouraged to look into the goings on of the city and make their judgements with outcomes vary wildly depending on how the player progresses through leads and the game itself. Overall the games story seeks to paint itself in a shroud of grey morality and constant questions leaving players to wonder about the workings of the city and draw their own conclusions.
Combat is the exception to this aim with the fast paced and challenging combat style aiming for an exhilarating enjoyable combat experience, rewarding creative player and encouraging players to experiment with the very prominent visuals of people hurling the elements at each other.
●Fast paced, challenging and both visually and mechanically rewarding combat style
●Deep story which players are encouraged to explore in their own way
●Large Pseudo open world to explore
