STACK February 2017 Issue 148

50 / 95

For Honor is a fresh new IP out of Ubisoft
Montreal – a third-person action hack-and-
slash game revolving around a faction war
between the Vikings, Samurai and Knights.
It’s basically all your childhood movie fantasies
rolled into one, and the must-have gift this
Valentine’s Day.
Assembling all these characters in the
same room at the same time might seem like
somebody's idea of wish fulfilment, but game
director Roman Campos Oriola reveals that the
concept actually came from creative director
Jason VandenBerghe.
“Being a big fan of sword-fighting and having
himself trained a bit in German longsword, he
thought of ways to replicate the same emotions
in a video game," explains Oriola. "He then pitched
that idea to many different people, before he had
the chance to meet with our producer Stephane
Cardin and his core team – that resulted in the
first prototype of our new control system, the Art
of Battle."
The Vikings, the Samurai and the
Knights driving For Honor’s faction wars
each have their own individual hero
classes and specifications. These classes –
Vanguards, Assassins, Heavies and Hybrids
– have faction-specific mercenaries, from
Samurai Kensei and Orochi to Viking
Berserkers. It's the war between
these factions that spurs the
main story campaign, and Oriola
wanted to use this as a spingboard
into the multiplayer.
“Our story mode is a tale
of warriors that takes place a
few years before the events
of the multiplayer. A thousand
years after a huge cataclysm
that destroyed their world,
the Knights, the Vikings and
the Samurai have finally
managed to regain most of
their old strength. Each of
them now has the power
to defy the other factions,
transforming a rampant
conflict into a total open war.
"Embodying the greatest
warriors in each faction,
players will live, from the
inside, the events of a
crucial moment in
that age-old war. Confronted by manipulation and
treason, they will need to use all their wits and
skills to ensure the survival of their people and
foil the plans of the merciless and bloodthirsty
warlord, Apollyon.”
This faction war will play out as a part of a
detailed campaign, but a lot of what gamers have
actually seen so far is the ambitious multiplayer
aspect of the game. The two intertwine so
well that it doesn’t feel as though the single-
player aspect is an afterthought – more of an
enhancement, and an insight into why everyone
wants to kill each other in the multiplayer. This
campaign also serves as an introduction to the
revolutionary Art of Battle.
“The Art of Battle is our combat system that
delivers the feeling of real duelling without
sacrificing accessibility and simplicity,” Oriola
explains. "What we’ve done is take the most
important parts of actual melee fighting, boil them
down to their emotional essence,
then work with martial artists and
professional stuntmen to mo-cap
every possible move in the game.”
For Honor is shaping up to be
an action hack-and-slash title that’s
accessible to everyone, whether
you’re looking to best your mates in
online multiplayer or simply jumping
in for a stress-relieving campaign
playthrough. The death animations
are brutal and the combat system
rewarding enough that you truly do
feel like a hero.
Fresh off the back of Steep, Ubisoft are throwing another new
title our way. For Honor pits Vikings, Samurai and Knights (oh
my!) against one quizzed game director Roman
Campos Oriola on where the idea came from, and what to
expect from the new IP. Words Alesha Kolbe
50 FEBRUARY 2017
visit GAMES FEATURE
The Art of Battle
is our combat
system that
delivers the
feeling of real
duelling without
sacrificing
accessibility
and simplicity
of
the War
Worlds
• For Honor
is out Feb 14