The first gameplay footage shows that Warlock is much closer to *Hogwarts Legacy* than to *Baldur’s Gate 3*. It could be an exciting opportunity for the D&D universe.
The cat’s out of the bag: Wizards of the Coast unveiled at gamescomthe first gameplay footage from their upcoming D&D gameWarlock. It’s packed with magic and action—a cause for celebration for some, while others still have reasons to remain skeptical.
Either way, it’s clear that Warlock will be an exciting experiment. While D&D role-playing games like Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Solasta have long since established themselves, the series is now venturing into a different genre: action-adventure. This marks yet another foray into new territory that the brand is currently undertaking on multiple fronts.
D&D Should Be More Than Just Turn-Based Tactics
Of course, turn-based combat is a natural fit—after all, the ruleset of the most famous pen-and-paper role-playing game is built around it. It stands to reason that most video games would implement it accordingly.
With Warlock, the development studio Invoke now aims to prove that the franchise is also suited for fast-paced real-time combat, a flurry of special effects, and sprawling open worlds, as we know them from other fantasy universes. Fast-paced action instead of spending hours poring over a rulebook as thick as a Bible—for many, that’s a tempting promise. You can see all of this in the newly revealed gameplay footage:
The D&D foundation is clearly recognizable. All that magic also reminds us of Hogwarts Legacy. In Warlock, we’ll be able to use our magical abilities in particularly creative ways—for example, by making use of the environment. This is already evident in the demo with spells like “Mistwalk,” “Gale Blast,” and others well-known from the rulebook—and yes,for a sorceress like our character, the “Eerie Beam” is, of course, a must-have in her repertoire.
However, what’s shown doesn’t feel very organic yet; it comes across more like a demo on rails. That’s likely exactly what it is—a carefully curated glimpse that doesn’t yet represent the final game. A lot is likely to change before release, hopefully including the UI. So far, for instance, it’s not entirely clear how to select the many different magic spells.
D&D is currently waging an unprecedented campaign to raise its profile even further. New video games are also part of this strategy. A global success like Baldur’s Gate 3 can’t simply be replicated—especially since few would have expected a title from the niche turn-based RPG genre to take off like that, and its development consumed massive resources.
We expect to see even more experiments in various directions that are potentially more accessible to a mass audience and easier to develop. Warlock will soon cover the accessible action genre. Now it “just” has to be good.
What are people saying?
The response on social media to the reveal has been overwhelmingly positive, albeit with a certain degree of caution. Many are delighted by the sleek visuals and the many D&D elements that fans immediately recognize—not just in the spells. The patron goddess Tasha and the spectator, the little devil companion—it all exudes D&D flair, and that’s being praised.
OnYouTubefor example, a sharp-witted fan named HollowYves writes:
I love the detail that the enemy is actively trying to resist the magical blast. It feels like he’s rolling a saving throw.
Others, however, are skeptical because everything looks so polished that it feels more like a tech demo than a real game to them. ThisIsTheNewSleeve on Reddit puts it this way:
The combat is weird. It almost looks like it’s on rails? I don’t understand how these things are triggered. Sometimes it’s a spell, sometimes a sword attack, sometimes a special animation that only happens with this specific enemy. A lot of it looks cool, but I have no idea how these actions work in combat.
It won’t be long until release, as Warlock is set to come out as early as 2027. So it’ll be interesting to see what else happens by then.
What do you think of what’s been shown so far? Is it enough to get you excited about the game, or would you have liked to see more dynamic gameplay? Do you automatically associate D&D with role-playing games, or are you open to trying out the established settings in completely different genres? There have been attempts before, albeit with limited success so far. Do you think Warlock will change that? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
