Kyn, an indie action-RPG inspired by Viking lore, comes out next week

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I'm not the kind of guy who would presume to tell you what to play, but if you're a fan of the action-RPG business then you might want to take a peek at the upcoming Kyn, a Viking-themed game that features Diablo-style combat in a party-based environment. As you might imagine, that takes a little getting used to.

I played a bit with a pre-release version of the game and it was actually pretty decent. I didn't get anywhere near far enough into it to render any kind of meaningful judgment, but its multi-character implementation was definitely interesting. I can't claim that I ever became "good" with it, but I eventually learned that trying to keep everything under control in real-time is a losing proposition. Judicious use of the spacebar, which slows battles to a crawl, is essential: It doesn't allow for the same level of strategizing as a full-on pause option, but it does keep things manageable.

Each member of the party can be customized as a fighter, a mage, a healer, or whatever else you might have in mind. Developer Tangin Entertainment also promises a "deep crafting and loot system," with more than 100 different elemental materials that can be combined to create more powerful weapons and armor, although I didn't get far enough into it to mess around with all that.

I got a powerful Titan Quest vibe from Kyn during my brief time with it, and I mean that in a good way: Titan Quest was very good, and (so says I) deserved a far more positive reception than it got. Again, that's not an endorsement, just a (very) early impression, but one that I think warrants a second look. Kyn comes out on July 28.

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.