Anchors in the Drift is a free-to-play RPG from the makers of Scribblenauts
Scribblenauts Unlimited developer 5th Cell has announced that it is working on a new game, Anchors in the Drift, a free-to-play action-RPG in which the Earth is invaded by an inter-dimensional empire known as The Domain. That, predictably, leads to bad times for us, as islands of different civilizations called Remnants end up spread across a quantum ocean (yes, "quantum ocean") known as The Drift, while heroes from throughout history—the Anchors—seek to liberate them from the Domain's control.
Still following? It does seem like a convoluted setup, although the action in the crowdfunding pitch trailer looks fairly straightforward. The hook here is that players can customize their abilities with collectible cards, called Arc Mods, that are earned during gameplay. Each card has a cost, cooldown, category, and rarity, and they all work together seamlessly. The only limiting factor is the total "Arc Cost," which tops out at 100.
The game itself is divided into two modes, Recon and Warfront, which take place on two "opposing oceans" represented on a 2D map. The first mode, Recon, allows players to scout and accept challenges at their own pace, to earn rewards and increase their abilities so they're better prepared to take part in the second mode, Warfront. That's where the real action is taking place: Warfront offers a series of increasingly difficult Remnants (those islands in the Drift, remember) in a ladder format, with progress tracked on seasonal leaderboards.
5th Cell is seeking $500,000 in funding for Anchors in the Drift on Fig, the games-only crowdfunding platform that launched earlier this year. It's raised $95,000 so far, although only $4000 of that has come by way of conventional crowdfunding pledges. Investments make up the balance; you can find more about that here, although investing as opposed to backing remains restricted to accredited investors. There's no mention of a release date on the Fig page, but the "estimated delivery" date for backer rewards is the summer of 2016.
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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.
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