Pagan Online mixes League of Legends with Diablo

Pagan Online is an action-RPG crossed with a MOBA and inspired by “pre-Christian mythology”, according to developer Mad Head and publisher Wargaming. Mostly it seems to be concerned with battering big monsters. Take a gander at the cinematic trailer above.

It doesn’t really evoke ancient mythology, but it does have an aesthetic that calls to mind other MOBAs. Pip, our resident expert, noticed that the giant rock monster looked a great deal like League of Legends’ Zac, while the red, blue and green colour scheme for the heroes looks a bit like Dota.

Mad Head is trying to appeal as much to Diablo dungeon-delvers as the LoL and Dota lot. On the ARPG side, there’s inventory management, loot, abilities and crafting, but the pace of the missions and hero roles are inspired by MOBAs. It's not overtly MOBA stuff like creeps, towers and lane, but rather a design philosophy. It's hard to get an impression of that without actual gameplay footage, unfortunately.

It’s due out on PC in 2019, and in the meantime you can register for pre-launch tests, Trials, from the official site.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.