Awaken Realms revealed the gameplay of Blacksmith: Ignite the Forge, an upcoming game that mixes simulation into an unique combination of genres.
First of all, the game is a simulator, as it prompts the player to take over a dwarven smithy and turn it into a full-fledged crafting fortress.
The centerpiece of the simulation is the smithing itself, which lets you mine a variety of metals and smelt them to obtain alloys that grant special effects.
You can them pretty literally hammer them into shape on the anvil to create powerful weapons and enhance them with even more special affixes thanks to rune magic.
The more precise your work is, the better the weapons will be at destroying your enemies. You can see how it works in the trailer below, which happens to also have the perfect music to set the mood.
After you’ve forged your weapons, you can use them to equip the mercenaries you recruit, which can then be sent to face the forces chaos in auto-battler-style combat against regular foes and bosses.
As you continue to fight and earn rewards (including new weapon templates) you grow closer to the confrontation against Chaos incarnate, an encounter that will require “smithing skills, good resource management, and thoughtful team-building strategy.”
The game doesn’t yet have a release date but a demo will be released on October 10 on Steam.
Simulation games of this kind have been flourishing in the past few years, and if you want to check out more, you can take a look at Gunsmith Simulator and Blacksmith Master.