Overlord: Fellowship of Evil
Developer(s)Codemasters
Publisher(s)Codemasters
Writer(s)Rhianna Pratchett
Carl Johnson
Composer(s)Michiel van den Bos
Mark Knight
SeriesOverlord
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
ReleaseOctober 20, 2015
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Overlord: Fellowship of Evil is a fantasy action role-playing game developed and published by Codemasters. It is a spin-off of the Overlord series and was released on October 20, 2015 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Gameplay

A gameplay screenshot of the game

Overlord: Fellowship of Evil is an action role-playing video game. Unlike the original Overlord and Overlord II, the perspective of the game is shifted from third-person to an isometric top-down perspective,[1] similar to the Nintendo DS game Overlord: Minions.[2][3] Players can choose to play as one of the four Netherghūls, including Inferna, a warrior who can attack enemies with swords, Malady, a sorcerer and a necromancer, a rogue called Hakon and Dark Elf Prince Cryos, who can create area-of-effect attacks.[4] They can choose to play as different characters in different levels.[5] Players can also call Minions to the battle. They can help and assist players in combat, as well as providing them protection.[6] Players can choose from four types of Minions, namely Browns, Reds, Greens and Blues.[7] Each of them is equipped with different skills, and players can decide when to use them.[8] In addition, levels are generated procedurally, and loot can be collected.[9] All the four characters can be upgraded by visiting a statue in the game's hub. Players can also craft their own weapons by visiting a weaponsmith called Ricket.[5]

The game also supports four-player co-operative multiplayer, in which players play as the four Netherghūls to battle against enemies. While players can play co-operatively to complete levels, they can eliminate and kill other players, similar to the Magicka series and take their resources.[10] Both local multiplayer and online multiplayer are supported.[11]

Setting

The game is set a few centuries after the events of Overlord II, and the world is plagued by goodness, including the Minions' home. In order to reclaim their world and bring back evil, Gnarl, the chief minion, resurrects and reawakens four fallen servants of the dark arts. These servants are tasked to recover the world and bring balance back to it.[12]

Development

A new game set in the Overlord installment was teased by Codemasters through Twitter on March 21, 2015.[13] The game was officially announced a month later on April 23, 2015 alongside an official gameplay trailer.[14] According to Rob Elser, an executive producer from Codemasters, allowing players to play as an "evil" character has always been a goal for them, and they would like to achieve it through Fellowship of Evil.[15] It was considered as a spin-off in the series instead of a proper sequel to Overlord II because the team wanted to introduce some drastic changes to the franchise's formula. The team hoped that they can create something "exciting" by introducing new characters, story and other new additions. According to the developer, they wanted to add alterations to the game, while remain faithful to the past installments. As a result, the world and tone of the game remained unchanged. They also brought back returning characters like Gnarl (voiced by Marc Silk). In addition, they hired Rhianna Pratchett, the writer of Overlord II, to write the story and plot of Fellowship of Evil.[8] She co-wrote[16] the storyline with Carl Johnson.[17] The game received strong criticism for not being Overlord 3. Pratchett responded by saying that the development of Fellowship of Evil would not diminish the opportunity of Overlord 3 being developed. She hoped, that fans can consider it as Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris to the major Tomb Raider franchise.[18]

Overlord: Fellowship of Evil was originally set to be released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 29, 2015 through a digital format. However, it was later delayed to October 20, 2015.[19] Players who pre-ordered the game gained access to nine different hats, which are inspired by Team Fortress 2, for their in-game minions, as well as a digital artbook which displays several concept arts of the game.[20]

Reception

Eurogamer awarded the game a negative review, saying "Fans hoping for a revival of a cult favourite will be crushed, of course, but sadly newcomers are unlikely to find anything to enjoy either."[27] Jim Sterling of The Jimquisition awarded it a score of 1 out of 10, saying "Overlord: Fellowship of Evil has no charm, and is far from entertaining."[28] Destructoid praised the game's writing and voice acting, while criticizing everything else, including mindless combat, ugly graphics, wonky camera, boring loot, and bugginess.[29]

References

  1. ↑ Kato, Matthew (23 April 2015). "Overlord: Fellowship Of Evil Is A New Direction For The Series". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  2. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (22 April 2015). "New Overlord Revealed, Teases Four-Player Co-Op". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  3. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (23 August 2015). "Four-Player Overlord Announced for PS4, Xbox One, PC". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Chalk, Andy (23 April 2015). "Codemasters reveals Overlord: Fellowship of Evil". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Minionstry of Information – Slay Together, Stay Together". Codemasters. 10 August 2015. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  6. ↑ Sheriden, Conner (23 April 2015). "Overlord: Fellowship of Evil looks like Gauntlet with minions". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Suddi, Aran (5 August 2015). "Overlord: Fellowship Of Evil Gets New Trailer & Details". TheSixthAxis. Archived from the original on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  8. 1 2 Brown, Fraser (23 July 2015). "Reacquaint yourself with Overlord: Fellowship of Evil's minions". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 17 August 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  9. ↑ Reynolds, Matthew (23 April 2015). "Overlord returns: Watch the four-player reveal for Fellowship of Evil". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  10. ↑ Hillier, Brenna (11 August 2015). "A friend is an enemy who hasn't killed you yet in Overlord: Fellowship of Evil". VG247. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  11. ↑ Carter, Chris (10 August 2015). "Overlord: Fellowship of Evil still looks fairly meh". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  12. ↑ O'Conner, Alice (23 April 2015). "Gnarly – Overlord: Fellowship Of Evil Announced". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  13. ↑ Hilliard, Kyle (21 March 2015). "Codemasters Teasing Return Of Overlord". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  14. ↑ Phillips, Tom (23 April 2015). "Overlord: Fellowship of Evil announced via gameplay trailer". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  15. ↑ Copeland, Wesley (23 April 2015). "Codemasters Announces Overlord Fellowship of Evil". IGN. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  16. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (24 April 2015). "Overlord Writer Responds to Criticisms About Franchise's New Direction". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  17. ↑ See the credits in the game
  18. ↑ Khan, Zarmena (25 April 2015). "Overlord Writer Rhianna Pratchett Addresses Criticisms About Fellowship of Evil". PlayStation LifeStyle. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  19. ↑ Scammell, David (30 September 2015). "Overlord: Fellowship of Evil suffers three week delay". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  20. ↑ Scammell, David (3 September 2015). "Overlord: Fellowship of Evil releases September 29". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  21. ↑ "Overlord: Fellowship of Evil for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  22. ↑ "Overlord: Fellowship of Evil for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  23. ↑ "Overlord: Fellowship of Evil for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  24. ↑ Whitaker, Jed (29 October 2015). "Review: Overlord: Fellowship of Evil". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  25. ↑ Whitehead, Dan (4 November 2015). "Overlord: Fellowship of Evil review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  26. ↑ Bohn, Jason (26 October 2015). "Review: Overlord: Fellowship of Evil". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  27. ↑ "Overlord: Fellowship of Evil review". Eurogamer. 23 October 2015. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  28. ↑ "Overlord: Fellowship of Evil Review – Fellowship of the Ringpiece | the Jimquisition". Archived from the original on 21 October 2015.
  29. ↑ "Review: Overlord: Fellowship of Evil". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
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