Dawnbringer

*Dawnbringer* is a mobile open-world fantasy role-playing game that was developed by Copehagen Creators and published by Kiloo, and was released over a year after *Stormblades*, also published by Kiloo. The game can be seen to be a spiritual successor to *Stormblades*, as it inherits the swipe combat of *Stormblades*, along with some other gameplay mechanics.

## Premise

*It has been reported that the plot of the game has been divided into multiple acts. Due to developer time constraints, the game's early versions will only contain Act One, with any future Acts forthcoming in future updates.*

In a distant fantasy world, a race of angelic, winged humans, called Celestials, lived in Elysium, an aerial realm. Two Celestial brothers in strife, Kastor and Xariel, are expelled from their homeworld of Elysium to the world of Mournguard below. After the two crash down on Mournguard's surface in a massive fireball, the older, more arrogant and darker brother, Xariel, picks a fight with Kastor, knocks him down and escapes to a building called "The Tower".

Kastor follows Xariel to the Tower, where Xariel enters a rotunda-like room where the skeletons of Mournguard's legendary Guardians lie in thrones. Rife with pride and a thirst for power, Xariel performs a ritual to draw the power of the deceased Guardians, but in the process, he becomes infected by a red tendril-like substance that crawls up his arm and causes his eyes to glow red. Imbued with unnatural power, Xariel unleashes a devastating blast and disappears, leaving the room empty.

Kastor meets an old man named Aros, who tells Kastor that the skeletal remains of Mournguard's Guardians were stolen and need to be retrieved, for without their power, the Corruption and a demon invasion originating from the nether-realm of the Abyss would soon overrun Mournguard. Kastor then sets out on a long journey to retrieve the skeletal remains of the Guardians, battling demons and occasionally his brother along the way, to save Mournguard from the demons and discover the truth.

## Reception

The game has received mixed reviews. Common criticisms of the game included a sense of repetitiveness, an unorthodox movement control system and some bugs, including a game-breaking bug on certain devices in which the game would always crash after Kastor tries to follow Xariel into the Tower at the beginning of the game, preventing the player from continuing further.

## Connections to *Stormblades*

Given that Kiloo released *Dawnbringer* just a year after releasing *Stormblades* and *Dawnbringer* shares similar combat controls with *Stormblades*, *Dawnbringer* can be considered to be a spiritual sequel to *Stormblades* in some respects, as listed below:

* Both games feature 1:1 sword combat controls, where the direction the player swipes on the screen determines which way the player's sword will be swung.
* In both games, players can parry off enemy attacks by swiping against the direction of the enemy's attack. Some parries can actually deal a small amount of damage back to the enemy, whether by good timing (*Dawnbringer*) or the use of a blade with a "Reflect" power (*Stormblades*).
* In both games, a mineral is used as the primary in-game currency ("Essence" for *Stormblades* or "Titanite" for *Dawnbringer*). This currency is used in both games to upgrade weapons and create health-replenishing supplies ("Life Stones" in *Stormblades* or health potions in *Dawnbringer*).
* Both games feature armored enemies that take less damage, but can have their armor broken as the player goes about attacking such enemies.
* In both games, there is a chance that a player's attack can inflict critical damage, although the availability of such feature varies between the two games. In *Stormblades*, critical damage can only be inflicted with certain blades that have a purple "Critical" power, and usually have a low percentage of occurring. Critical hits in that game are distinguished as strikes that leave a bright purple streak. In *Dawnbringer*, critical damage can be inflicted with any sword, but the likelihood of doing so is defined by what kind of helmet Kastor is wearing (for example, Kastor has a 50% chance of inflicting critical hits when he is wearing the Major's Faceguard). Critical hits in that game are distinguished as hits that are marked with a yellow damage number as opposed to a red one. Materials can be spent in both games to increase the likelihood that a critical hit will occur, whether by upgrading the Critical power of a blade (*Stormblades*) or forging Kastor's current helmet (*Dawnbringer*).
* Both games have a type of boss enemy named "Warlord". Both games also have three major types of enemies (Fighters, Guardians and Sorcerers in *Stormblades* or three demon tribes, "Furies", "Reavers" and "Skulks" in *Dawnbringer*).
* In both games, players can use magic crystals to provide temporary buffs, which work differently between the two games. In *Stormblades*, every blade contains at least one jewel of a certain color that provides one of five special powers to give the Warrior an edge in combat and can be upgraded with Essence to augment its effects. In *Dawnbringer*, Kastor can collect "shards" of different colors, from defeating certain bosses or buying Shard Ore from the Miner's Market, to enhance his stats or grant him additional boosts whenever he drinks a Health Potion or unleashes "Wrath" on an enemy. However, some combinations of shards cannot be equipped simultaneously. In both games, up to three crystals can be active at once during a particular battle.
* In both games, using a health-restoring item in battle temporarily stuns the enemy.
* In both games, enemies will never use an upward attack.
* In both games, the player's health is measured in a green bar, while the opponent's health is measured in a red one.
* In both games, the player's main goal is to retrieve "relics". In *Stormblades*, they are generic artifacts which all look alike and only serve as badges of honor to prove the Warrior's worth, while in *Dawnbringer*, they are skeletal parts of Mournguard's Guardians, which must be put together and brought back to the rotunda-like throne room in the Tower.
* In both games, it is possible to view your current sword at an equipment screen and even twirl it around by swiping it up or down. The sword can also be upgraded by spending certain materials.
* It is also possible to break urns and other similar containers to obtain resources in both games. While urns must be destroyed by swinging a sword at them in *Stormblades*, urns in *Dawnbringer* can be broken simply by tapping them whenever they come in view.
* Both games have a daily reward system, where the player can defeat one particular enemy each day for several consecutive days to obtain rewards. In *Stormblades*, the player can participate in a 10-day Sword Quest, in which the end boss of a level is replaced with a special boss that can be defeated for a small reward (such as extra Relics or Life Stones). One boss is unlocked each day for 10 days, and players that can defeat all 10 special bosses within that timeframe will earn a free blade. In *Dawnbringer*, the player can defeat one enemy at the Arena located near the Tower grounds each day to earn some extra Titanite. After four enemies are defeated over the course of four days, defeating any more daily enemies on further consecutive days will provide more diverse rewards.
* Both games do not rely on an on-screen analog stick for movement. Movement is fully automatic in *Stormblades*, while in *Dawnbringer*, the player taps the screen once to start moving and taps the screen again to stop, while dragging the screen around to steer Kastor's movement.
* Both games offer a Facebook-linked cloud save system, which allows players to transfer their save progress to a different device if they sign in to Facebook.

## References

1. ↑ US Google Play listing for *Dawnbringer*
2. ↑ US App Store listing for *Dawnbringer*
3. ↑ Raw YouTube footage of the end of Act One, at 32:20