Addressing the global longing for a Secret of Mana style game with a crafting system, Mydhilde materializes a lovable Celtic fantasy world with just that. Playing like a Zelda/Mana series mashup, Mydhilde gives players countless reasons to explore this game world aside from simply jumping head first into the hack and slash frenzy.
Taking point as the protagonist Eily, the player will embark on a quest to kill a Weck, which is an evil magical witch. The game is brimming with them, but Eily has a specific target in mind that’s yet to be revealed. It is not advised to rush through the environments, as there are plenty of obstacles that will stop the player in their tracks unless they’re prepared. From flowers that release poisonous spores, to the Wecks themselves, players will learn quick that their health bar drops quick if they don’t craft items and fully equip Eily before progressing.
Checkpoints are present in the form of a cute flower (the kind that adorns the Mydhilde logo flourish) and when Eily loses her health, she is reborn from the last flower touched. Health, stamina, and anima bars are displayed, and things like jumping and performing laboring tasks will deplete the stamina bar. A fair majority of the environment props can be interacted with. Rocks can be smashed with a pick, flowers can be plucked, and grass can be sifted through.
When the player searches, items and crafting ingredients can be found. Trees can be chopped down for wood, rocks can be mined from boulders, and a day and night cycle brings about the necessity for making a camp fire. Don’t know how to make one? The crafting recipe book can be referenced, although in the pre-alpha, a few recipes are available, but a vast set of recipes from tailoring to alchemy are planned for inclusion.
The inventory itself can be customized by toggling the appearances of the modules like the item descriptions, player stats, and the map screen. Items can be equipped to a mapped set of commands using the A, S, D, F, and G keys. The sword and tools will be equipped here for usage in the overworld.
Mydhilde does a wonderful job of taking the hack and slash RPG and installing a wonderful scavenge and crafting system. By allowing players to interact with more than half the visible environment, a new level of depth is added, creating a “stop and search before proceeding to the fight ahead” atmosphere that really grows on the player.
UPDATE: Pre-Alpha Build no Longer Available