It's been a good few years for fans of CRPGs, and the genre's steadily growing library means we're all in a perpetual state of "gonna go back and do a Durge run later" in Baldur's Gate 3. During today's PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted, the world premiere for Legends of Awen: Rise of the Fianna promised to add another crunchy RPG to that queue with Celtic mythology, warriors, bards, and druids.
Rise of the Fianna conjures up its own original world with inspirations from Celtic folklore, noting the Irish legends of the Fianna Cycle among its greatest influences. The legends here are more than just a quick tale or two, spanning poems, ballads, and a collection of ancient manuscripts. Professional storytellers have passed on those stories for ages and—hey, I think I see where this is going.
Developer Hawkswell says the showcase footage is quite early, a mix of pre-alpha in-engine footage and in-game sequences, but it gets the vision across. You'll play as Rise of the Fianna's hero, Finn, and lead legendary warriors with your "otherworldly powers." I'm assuming those fancy abilities are the songs used to "summon heroes of old" mentioned in the announcement trailer. There's several layers here to being a storyteller telling stories about the power of other storytellers, but I'll hold off on letting the gears turn further until we've got more than 30 seconds to work with.
We see flashes of the battle system, too. Between that and Hawkswell's descriptions, Rise of the Fianna sounds like it's got all of the usual charm points for folks into strategic isometric CRPGs. Less like Disco Elysium given the combat, and more like a Baldur's Gate or Rogue Trader. There's a focus on strategic encounters and their environments, along with a focus on five unique companions you'll cozy up to.
It's the first game from Hawkswell, but as if the themes aren't spilling through already, the studio's official website isn't shy about its emphasis on interactive storytelling. There's no date just yet for when you can expect the team's debut RPG, but they'll seek crowdfunding sometime in the first quarter of 2025.
Until then, you can wishlist Legends of Awen: Rise of the Fianna on Steam. Also don't forget to tune into this year's PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted for even more games to put off that Durge run for.
