Cryptic Studios seems to get criticised a lot – mainly for the focus on lockboxes in the monetization of their games – but for me they're definitely doing something right. I enjoy Neverwinter, and Star Trek Online is queued up for a return to my rotation soon, and of course they were the original developers of City of Heroes.
Nowhere in Neverwinter is the connection to City of Heroes more apparent than in the opening of the Elemental Evil campaign. The leaders of the four cults make their entrances like supervillains, evil laugh emotes* and all. If Arachnos themselves had showed up to join the attack on Protector's Enclave alongside them they would have fit right in.
Neverwinter plays most of its storylines fairly straight, but I suppose when the good guys include Minsc (and Boo) it's a good idea for the villains be somewhat larger than life so that they're not entirely overshadowed.
*I first played Neverwinter in 2018, when City of Heroes was still 'on hiatus', and suddenly seeing that evil laugh animation was like unexpectedly meeting an old and much missed friend.
The other campaign that opens in this level range is Sharandar. The dark fairytale environments of the Feywild are wonderfully realised with great visuals and music, and one of the best mobs in the game – the Redcaps.
If I were to compile a top 10 of my favourite aggro quotes then "You die now!" from the orcs of Tower District and "Protect the masters!" from the duergar of Whispering Caverns would both be in there, but I don't know if I could pick just one from the redcaps.
"Wither your limbs!"
"Cut you slow!"
"Watch you bleed!"
"Blood magic!"
"A-ha-ha-ha-hahaha!"
Everything about the redcaps – from their animations and special attacks to their voicework – is full of character. They're extremely funny, but no less dangerous for it, and the comedy aspects of their design doesn't undermine the maliciousness of their actions. They're fun to fight because they're so brilliantly realised, and they're the undisputed stars of the campaign.
Certainly more so than the elves of Sharandar themselves, who include some of the most unsympathetic questgivers you'll ever encounter. You'll ask yourself why you're actually helping them when they're so ungrateful.
It's the end of my second 24 hours in this game, and I've made it to level 68, which is a little short of where I expected to be by now. I'm only 12 levels away from the level cap, but there's still a lot to come in Neverwinter.
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