Destiny’s Sword – PAX East Preview
His hands were twitching, he was beginning to sweat and refusing to make eye contact. I knew the symptoms, I’d had them myself. I’d have this same interaction in my day to day life. Only, I was the one being diagnosed, supported, and helped. I wasn’t suffering from experiencing this during a war zone, an active battle field, or as I fought against a massive enemy mech that was raining hell down on me and my squadmates. It happened when I was trying to tell my parents school went well when my depression was making it anything but. But here I am, a Squad Commander in a military unit, in a war I’m not sure is worth the cost because I’m seeing and hearing about the toll its taking on people.
And it’s not just the civilians being incidental casualties to both sides, forgotten as the very people we’re fighting for are being left, dying on the side of the road. “Doing it for more than just the one person.” It’s a lie I’m telling one of my combat medics. I’m telling him what he needs to hear to get back into the fight and deal with his depression.
Another of my squad members was a gal we all call Mag. Mag is one of the best soldiers I have. She leads the way in every fight and is there to protect and defend any of her squad members. But something is wrong and, outside of the fight, off this battlefield, the cracks are starting to fissure. She stole a watch. A squad member’s last remaining memento of a father he just lost. And she sold it to get her fix of something called “skye.” Worse yet, Mag tells me she was in a foxhole when she was given her first hit. I can’t trust this junkie till she gets clean, but how do I make the choice to get her clean when I know that her quickened response might be the only thing keeping us alive out there?
The battlefield of war is making casualties of the survivors, and it is a war I have to fight. All while keeping them alive out there. This is theDestiny’s Sword’s demo in a nutshell. Playing through the actual card skill based battle mechanics that feels one part RPG and one part tactical strategy. I played through it and didn’t bother thinking about how my squad would react to some of my bold choices.
There is a strong desire from 2Dogs to create a game that doesn’t just have PTSD, addiction, anxiety, and other serious mental health issues be status effects. But, rather, addresses it, and by doing so helps us on so many different levels. It also doesn’t treat characters as one note problem children as other mediums might. Each character needs to get known before they are willing to trust you enough to talk to you about what is the most sensative issues in their lives.
Destiny’s Sword is a story about war and its consequences. It’s set to launch some time in late 2019.
