Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons revealed as dark fantasy open-world action RPG

This D&D adventure offers plenty of lore for fans, but also offers a great starting point for new players. The Dungeons & Dragons franchise continues to expand into video games with Warlock, the upcoming open world action-RPG from Invoke Studios. Following its gameplay reveal during Gamescom Opening Night Live, GameSpot had the chance to preview a hands-off demo of Warlock, which showcased plenty of dark-fantasy elements in a world filled with player choice.

The Dungeons & Dragons franchise continues to expand into video games with Warlock, the upcoming open world action-RPG from Invoke Studios. Following its gameplay reveal during Gamescom Opening Night Live, GameSpot had the chance to preview a hands-off demo of Warlock, which showcased plenty of dark-fantasy elements in a world filled with player choice. Warlock is a third-person single-player adventure set in one of Ravenloft's Domains of Dread, Darkon--a realm known for its gothic cities and vast wilderness, the latter of which is dotted with undead. Invoke Studios describes Darkon as an "exploration-driven" open world. Unlike in D&D, players won't be rolling dice, but they'll still be able to invoke plenty of magic as Kaatri, the game's protagonist. Kaatri is played by Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer, and she is guided by a patron named Tasha, who is played by Maggie Robertson, an actress notable for her performance as Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village. With Tasha's guidance, Kaatri will learn to see and collect raw magic in the world, growing more powerful and gaining the knowledge of several spells along the way. Dungeons & Dragons fans will recognize popular spells in the trailer like Witch Bolt, Gust of Wind, Black Tentacles, and Eldritch Blast, but the full range of Kaatri's magic hasn't been revealed yet. The developer explained that some spells can be used for both combat and exploration, and there is also ritual-type magic that can be invoked with ingredients found in the world--we see this in the trailer, with Kaatri performing a ritual to create a downpour, buffing the effects of Witch Bolt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrJdYlOHriU Despite abandoning other elements of D&D, Warlock still leans heavily into player choice, as one would expect from Dungeons & Dragons. Kaatri has a sword at her disposal, and the developer explained that in many cases, the player will have options on how to approach locked areas, combat, and other situations. Maybe blunt force is the path the player wants to take, or they could instead opt to use magic to find an alternative way forward. Of course, magic always comes with a price. When we asked the developers about this, it was revealed that the powerful magic definitely comes at a cost for Kaatri, but the developers didn't want to give those details away yet. Kaatri's journey is heavily-rooted in dark magic, and part of the storyline presumably builds to what consequence she will face for using it. Warlock features a world map, but the information it provides is intentionally limited, as the developers want players to engage in exploration. Players will encounter highly populated settlements along their journey where they can upgrade weapons, talk with NPCs, and discover new quests and details. Any place players can see in the world is a location that can be traveled to, assuming they find the means to get there. One example showed Kaatri using a spell to turn into a raven in order to travel into a lower area of the map via a small gate that would otherwise be inaccessible. The inclusion of this raven transformation and ample raven imagery in the trailer has led a few of us to speculate that Warlock is pulling inspiration from the Raven Queen in its characterization of Tasha and determining which abilities she grants Kaatri. But it's also possible this is a story with a fresh interpretation of Tasha, one that doesn't lean into her traditionally archfey-coded abilities. If all of that seems confusing, don't worry about it. Warlock doesn't seem to be sticking to how D&D works anyway. Kaatri's liberal use of magic doesn't fit how it feels to play a warlock in D&D; she uses spells from two totally different D&D editions; and her use of an imp familiar, sword, and rituals implies she's pact of the chain, sword, and tome all at once... which doesn't make much sense. The studio may be trying to position Warlock as more of an on-ramp to D&D's lore and characters, rather than be an accurate representation of the game itself like Baldur's Gate 3. While it might not offer the traditional D&D fix some players are looking for, Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons is still an adventure game filled with magic in a world where the player has the freedom of imagination and creativity to overcome obstacles. There's also plenty of monsters and D&D lore baked into the game, which could serve as a good entry point for players who aren't familiar yet with D&D. Warlock is being developed for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, and it's slated for a 2027 release.

This week we got our first proper look at Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons, Wizard of the Coast's new RPG-tinted action game. In theory, it's the story of a grizzled weapon master who is searching a lawless pocket dimension for somebody precious to her, but I disapprove massively of this objective, because it sounds like it's going to get in the way of unearthing weird spells and making a glorious mess. Created by a team of former Far Cry, Watch Dogs and Splinter Cell devs, Warlock gives you an open world full of charms, cantrips and conjurations to gather and fool around with. I'm really hoping it's as open-ended as they're making it sound. Here's a video, followed by some commentary from creators Invoke. Read more

The Dungeons & Dragons franchise has continued to evolve over the decades, and in the upcoming Warlock from Invoke Studios, players will get the opportunity to explore a darker corner of that popular tabletop fantasy IP. Following its gameplay reveal during Gamescom Opening Night Live, GameSpot had the chance to sit down and chat with Invoke's general manager Dominic Guay and VP Jeff Hattem about the game. Set beyond the Mists of Darkon, players will make a pact with the warlock Taasha to wield sinister magic, and Invoke Studio says that it was given a surprising amount of freedom to craft the game. "We're building on the franchise, we're expanding it," Guay and Hattem said to GameSpot. "We're going to the Domains of Dread, which is one of the darker fantasy corners of Dungeons & Dragons. And the monster manual is filled with a whole bunch of monsters to choose from, and we're expanding on that as well. The magical spells as well, we're taking what's built into D&D and expanding. We're creating some new stuff as well for players and reimagining some older spells from previous editions." Compared to the last big D&D game, Baldur's Gate 3, Warlock gives players more direct control over the protagonist, Kaatri, as it's a third-person single-player adventure. That means no rolls of the dice--just a straight-up dive into action as players wield both magic and melee weapons against the nastier denizens of Darkon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrJdYlOHriU "D&D is a game that players can express a lot of creativity in, and for me, at least personally, I wanted to make a system that would allow them to express that creativity with magic. The Warlock class has magic at the core of what they can do, and we wanted to really represent that with the game," Guay and Hattem explained. "Being expressive and creative with magic is really fun when you can manipulate the elements, the world, and find an advantage over monsters because of the systems that you can impact." As for the tone of Warlock? After debuting the gameplay with a trailer that included some Tool music in the background, Invoke says that players can expect a lot more dark fantasy on their journey--as well as some lighter moments, to break things up. "It is definitely a dark fantasy game, but it's got moments of levity and brightness and color as well," Guay and Hattem said. "We're going into Darkon, which is a huge world, an open world to explore, and it's got a varied biome of elements to explore. There's a whole wide cast of characters that have different personalities and contrasts. Just look at Tasha, she's like very chaotic and exuberant, and then you go into Darkon, there are more dark fantasy characters. So, I think there's a lot, and there's a wide range of tones, I would say, for players. It's not just one note." Warlock is also aiming to be both an entry point into the world of D&D and appealing to veterans of the series. Invoke explained that Khatri is well-positioned to be a point-of-view character for players to become familiar with DnD, while veterans will easily spot Easter eggs and references throughout the game. "I think like if you want a fully realized adventure that you can play in the setting of DnD, and see some of the spells that you really like, some of the monsters that you're familiar with, realized into an action-adventure, this is the game for you," Guay and Hattem concluded. Set to release in 2027, the game features the voices of Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as Kaatri and Maggie Robertson, who previously played Orin the Red in Baldur's Gate 3. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamescom-opening-night-live-2026-all-the-biggest-announcements-games-and-trailers/

After nearly a year of silence, Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons has reemerged to give sword and sorcery fans a first look at its third-person gameplay. Warlock's gameplay reveal came during Gamescom Opening Night Live, and featured a lengthy trailer showcasing how the game's spell-slinging combat will work. Based on its latest trailer, Warlock forgoes sticking to the same formula many D&D-based adventure games tend to use, placing an emphasis on spells and combat rather than roleplay and replicating the tabletop experience. This might not appeal to those seeking a more traditional D&D-like experience--or those who are baffled by main character Katri's seemingly infinite spell slots--but its dark fantasy visuals, snappy spellcasting, and Witcher-esque gameplay certainly look fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNw0sh481bA In addition to a first look at gameplay, the trailer also gave us a bit more information regarding the game's setting. It seems as though Warlock will follow Katri's journey through Ravenloft's Domains of Dread. Darkon, the largest and most powerful of these domains, was seen in the trailer; we can only hope that a Darklord Azalin appearance will follow. Warlock was announced during the 2025 The Game Awards via a stylish heavy metal trailer that spotlighted the game's main character, Katri. In an interview last year, developer Invoke Studios said players will always play as Katri, but may meet other characters and form alliances with them while adventuring. Earlier this year, it was announced that Maggie Robertson--best known for her performances as Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil: Village and Orin the Red in Baldur's Gate 3--would be joining Warlock as Tasha, a Dungeons & Dragons icon whom fans are likely familiar with. Known also as Iggwilv, Zybilna, and The Witch Queen, Tasha is the creator of a Domain of Delight, Prismeer, and one of the universe's most powerful archfey. In Warlock, Tasha serves as Katri's patron, granting her immense power in exchange for obedience. This isn't Invoke's first stab at a D&D adventure. The studio, formerly Tuque Studios, was also behind 2021's not exactly well-received D&D: Dark Alliance reboot. Warlock is slated for a 2027 release.