Coridden is a smooth action RPG with combat juice and an excellent shapeshifting hook
Diablo meets Animorphs in Aftnareld's co-op action RPG epic.
One of the biggest surprises for me at PAX East was easily Coridden. I sat down with one of the developers to run through their co-op demo, and I didn't want to get up. This game not only makes the familiar hacking, slashing, and looting of the classic action RPG feel great, but it has a monster collecting-slash-transforming gimmick that fits the space perfectly. I do have some questions or concerns for the full thing, but after one demo session I'm completely on board to find those answers myself.
On the surface, Coridden is a traditional action RPG with up to four players. The characters are defined, but their roles and skills are not. Some of that will be determined by the equipment you find as you go, but there are plenty of skill tree options to dive into as well. Those choices feel important, as Coridden definitely has the juice when it comes to combat. It wasn't complex, but the way I could seamlessly play with light attacks, heavy attacks, skills, and dodging felt almost out of place in this genre. But in a good way that elevated the Diablo-like structure to more than simply button-mashing.
The icing on the cake is the monster system. While it doesn't go as far as approaching Pokemon-style collecting, certain encounters result in a monster "drop," which you can then equip as a new skill tree. From there you can transform into the monster on demand, giving you access to a whole new set of gameplay mechanics. That extends from combat into exploration, an example being the first monster you get allowing faster movement speed and longer jumps. Also, in co-op, you can have one player ride the other, giving you even more combat options. And it all feels great in your hands. Nothing stood out as clunky, janky, or anything like it.
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