Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons recently released its long-awaited gameplay reveal at gamescom, and it gave us an extended look at main character Kaatri and the powers she has at her disposal.
If you weren’t already aware, Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons is a single-player, third-person, open-world action-adventure game from developer Invoke Studios where you wield forbidden magic to bend the rules, outwit obstacles, and overcome challenges through creativity. Kaatri is the warlock, and the gameplay reveal begins with her and Tasha, her witch queen patron. We see Tasha upgrade Kaatri’s Warlock’s Eye, which allows her to see Raw Magic and is the key to finding new spells and improving the ones she has.
From there, Kaatri moves to Darkon, a Domain of Dread pulled directly from D&D. It’s unstable and on the verge of being ripped apart by Mists. There is time to explore Darkon, but it’s filled with danger and opportunity around every corner.
Exploration is clearly a big focus of Warlock. As you travel through Darkon, you’ll need to stay alert and use magic to help you make your way. Your Warlock’s Eye will point you toward Raw Magic, but it’ll be up to you to figure out what to do with it. You need to pay attention to the sights and sounds around you and decide what deserves your attention.
Kaatri heads into Crickshank, a settlement in Darkon that harbors a dark secret that players can uncover. Skev, her imp companion, flies alongside as Crickshank’s biggest mystery pulls them underground, beneath its shops. Kaatri enters the ossuary catacombs, and we see her utilize both her dexterity and magic for rapid traversal.
She emerges into a large chamber full of monsters, including the eyeball-like aberration Death Kiss. Kaatri rushes into combat and uses a spell to latch onto a column and pull it down onto a monster. The developers have revealed that this spell is called Tasha’s Leash and is a brand-new cantrip that can be used to pull or throw objects whenever you want, showing that use of the environment will be a major part of combat.
With the Death Kiss closing in on her, Kaatri then uses another spell to swap positions with a different monster, allowing her to escape to high ground while the Death Kiss destroys the monster she swapped with. The developers shared that this is called Fey Switch, a new Warlock advanced spell.
These new spells are all well and good, but if you’ve played D&D before, you know there’s one tried and true spell that’s a mainstay for all Warlocks: Eldritch Blast. So of course, we get a look at that too. As with its D&D counterpart, Eldritch Blast’s value in Warlock is its versatility. It’s a cantrip, so it’s consistently available. And it’s helpful in just about any situation, whether you need a ranged attack to apply pressure to an enemy, want to cleanly finish one off, or want to keep your offensive momentum going in between melee strikes and bigger spells. It’s a key part of your kit, just as it should be.
The gameplay reveal then shows another way you can use the environment: weather. Kaatri makes her way into a misty field and invokes the Downpour Ritual, calling forth rain and forming puddles across a field where vampires are fighting a horde of zombies. Kaatri casts Witch Bolt, shooting out electricity that spreads across the wet surfaces and forks through enemies.
Since she’s a Pact of the Blade Warlock, Kaatri is then able to conjure a sword and other pact weapons to switch into melee combat. And that’s where it all comes together, as Kaatri weaves together magical and melee combat and showcases the core of Warlock’s combat system. The effects of one spell can feed into the next, as you chain together different abilities depending on the enemies you’re facing and the space you’re in.
The video ends with Kaatri finding a Strand of Magic, giving us a glimpse at the Raw Magic that’s hidden across Darkon that will fuel Kaatri’s progression throughout the game. It’s clear that Warlock draws on familiar spells, locations, and lore that D&D fans will immediately recognize, but tells a new and original story that newcomers can dive into and learn everything they need to know.
Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons is slated to release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2027. To get the latest news and updates, you can check out the game’s official website or follow it on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, or YouTube. And for more coverage of the game as we get more info, stay tuned to IGN.