Preview Weekend: First 15-Minutes Impressions

Emberville leans into the idea of a dungeon-delving, pixel-art-themed arpg from the moment you launch the game. The style is reminiscent of Project Zomboid, Stardew Valley, or Terraria. The feel of the game as you learn the systems — movement, stats, levels for nearly everything — adds to the style a feeling that the developers have stated is “Stardew Valley meets Diablo,” and they are right on the money. Chests open to reveal different armor and weapon types that have you immediately looking for an upgrade, which you invariably receive mere moments later.

The ambient music is what sets me on edge in this preview immediately – it’s almost perfect. After fifteen minutes of the prologue, which doesn’t get you far when nearly everything you see — doors, boxes, chairs, skeletons, skulls — is breakable for gatherable items, I am still feeling like the lack of background music is setting the tone for what to expect throughout the game. And that doesn’t even count the fact that it appears as though “hardcore” mode, or dead-is-dead runs, which are my primary focus for games like this, are instantly removed. You die exiting the building you wake up in.

Overall, the first fifteen or so minutes of the game are like a complimentary taster at the grocers — designed to get you to partake of their offerings in a more direct manner. And boy, did I buy in.