As a CRPG fan of a certain vintage, I have a lot of fondness for Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines developer Troika's fantasy steampunk RPG. But it's now over two decades old, and still incredibly rough around the edges (and, frankly, everywhere else), so it's not the most playable RPG romp in 2024. Which is why I found myself eager to play New Arc Line, another fantasy steampunk CRPG, which recently launched in early access.
OK, so here's the deal: Magic used to rule the world, but that was something of an issue for most people. Reality was constantly in flux, and it turns out that kinda gets in the way of just living your life. But the Big Bad Sorcerer running the show was brought down by a hero—they do love to meddle, those heroes—which ushered in a new age of progress and technology. Magic is still hanging around, but it isn't really trusted.
