Arise Dark Lord is a new RTS where you raise evil armies and crush "godless heathens"
· PCGamesNIntroversion Software, the team behind the BAFTA-winning Prison Architect, has just revealed Arise Dark Lord, a brand new action RTS hybrid where you are, in fact, a dark lord. You have but a single mission: conquer the lands with your undead hordes, and spread your evil far and wide. I guess that's technically two missions, but one leads into the other, so I'll say it's one.
Arise Dark Lord gives you full control over your merry band of misfits and their ingenious, evil leader - you. Whether you choose to raise the dead and create packs of zombies, or go full Saruman and bend orcs to your will, the goal is to build the perfect, all-corrupting fighting force, then take over the land, piece by piece. Lush forests? Sounds like lumber sources to me. Towering mountains? Mine them and bring them down a peg. As your influence expands, so will your hunger for resources - the woods didn't need all those trees, anyway.
You'll also be able to construct your own Dark Tower (literally Saruman-style), which you'll have to fortify with various weapons, traps, and barricades. The human population will start to fight back, and you'd better be prepared. Sacking a rival settlement will also give you upgrades via your spellbook, meaning that you'll consistently be ahead of any pesky do-gooders.
Arise Dark Lord is currently in early development, and is due for release "sometime in 2027." You can, however, play its Prologue over on itch.io right now, and wishlist it here.
I took the Prologue for a spin on my lunch break, and I'm obsessed with the almost Tolkein-esque parchment artstyle, and the clear homages to The Lord of the Rings (I'm a secret LoTR obsessive, don't tell anyone). Most of all, though, it's just really fun, and sometimes that's exactly what you need - even if some beautiful fantasy landscapes have to die for it. Make sure you get back to work on time, though, as difficult as that is.