Warlock, the next big D&D action game, shown off with first gameplay trailer

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Baldur's Gate 3 is a tough act to follow. Larian has moved on from the D&D license to return to its own Divinity world, and it remains to be seen what kind of CPRG follow-up Wizards of the Coast can muster.

In the meantime, the next big D&D game doesn't try for the BG3 throne: Developer Invoke is instead, to my eyes, channeling the 2000s boom of immersive sim-ish action games like The Darkness, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and Infamous.

We got our first look at Warlock gameplay at Gamescom's Opening Night Live showcase today. Check it out above.

It looks fun to me, but there is a staged quality to the gameplay, where our hero consistently deploys just the right warlock power at just the right time.

I'm also left curious to find out how much freeform exploration we'll be doing. Invoke describes Warlock as an open world game, and bits of it do have a Skyrim-ey feel: Strolling into town at the start, hearing locals react to your presence. But events progress smoothly from one beat to the next from there—again, perhaps because it's a trailer that needed to move things along.

I have a feeling the characters and story will make or break this one. We've all seen and played lots of this kind of 'use the right power to traverse the gap' adventure before, and my interest will largely be determined by how invested I am in its world.

The warlock class is fun: In D&D, they receive their powers from a supernatural benefactor. Warlock's protagonist, Kaatri, has made a pact with "an ancient and powerful witch" named Tasha, who we get the impression has her own agenda. Conflict, I presume, will ensue.

Warlock is due out next year, and it's got a Steam page live with more info.