ANVIL stands out as an open-world medieval RPG that transports players to the 12th century, where they step into the role of a former soldier navigating a realistic environment filled with opportunities to aid villagers and shape their legacy.
Gameplay
In ANVIL, core mechanics revolve around building relationships and making moral choices in a dynamic open world. The karma system tracks your actions, rewarding honorable deeds like helping citizens while punishing crimes such as theft or harming innocents, which can lead to severe consequences and even block progress toward completing the game. Combat focuses on PVE encounters with an advanced system that emphasizes strategic builds and a variety of medieval weapons, including flails, spears, hammers, and longswords. You switch between first-person and third-person perspectives to suit your style during exploration and fights.
Professions add depth to survival and progression, letting you engage in activities like cooking, fishing, harvesting plants for herbal restoratives, blacksmithing, farming, and taming animals. These skills support your journey by providing resources and ways to interact with the environment. Quests drive the narrative, split into a main storyline and secondary tasks that intersect with NPC relations. The relation system allows forming bonds with characters, potentially leading to deep alliances or romantic partnerships, enhanced by an advanced follower mechanic that brings companions into your adventures.
Game Modes
ANVIL operates as a single-player experience, emphasizing solo exploration and story-driven progression in its open world. Without multiplayer elements, the focus remains on personal decision-making and individual narrative paths, allowing full immersion in the medieval setting.
Classes and Factions
Players choose between two distinct classes at the start: a Templar from the Order of the Temple or a descendant of Vikings. Each class influences your approach to quests and interactions, with Templars aligned toward upholding justice and religious honor, while Viking descendants bring a heritage of resilience and exploration. These choices affect how citizens perceive you and open different paths to gaining trust and forging alliances within the game's factions.
Updates and Current State
As an early access title, ANVIL receives ongoing updates that expand its content. The current version, v1.3.0, includes the Vikings map with initial quests and a tutorial available through community channels. An upcoming v2.0.0 update will introduce the Templars map, promising more areas to explore. Developers plan to add new maps, quests, and features like advanced NPC relations and additional professions over time, building toward a full release with polished environments using techniques such as photogrammetry and motion capture.
Is It Worth Playing?
For enthusiasts of realistic medieval RPGs with strong emphasis on moral choices and relationship-building, ANVIL offers a compelling foundation in its early access phase. The combination of karma-driven consequences, diverse professions, and strategic combat suits those who enjoy thoughtful progression over fast-paced action. Since the game is still developing with regular updates, it appeals to players willing to engage with an evolving project and contribute feedback. If you prefer complete experiences, waiting for the full version might be ideal, but the existing systems provide solid gameplay for fans of open-world adventures centered on personal stories and ethical decisions.
