Emperor Dracula: Island of Shadows

// The build

How we built it

This is our studio's first 3D game and first open world. Valdros has villages, graveyards and mountain passes, and side quests pay off in better steel: Brom the smith forges a stronger weapon if you bring him iron ore from Ironpeak. A clock runs on screen, and resting makes time pass.

Enemies wind up before they swing, and a well-timed parry leaves them open, so button-mashing does not last long. The difficulty setting changes how enemies behave. On Story they attack one at a time, with longer wind-ups, a wider parry window and more potions. On Brutal they gang up, strike faster and leave a tighter window, with fewer potions to go round.

On a phone, the left thumb drags to move, the right side of the screen drags to look, and two fingers pinch to zoom. Frame rate can be capped at 30 to save battery, and settings include a download for offline play. Before the first game the player confirms they are 12 or over, and the terms warn players with photosensitive epilepsy about flashing lights.