With the simulation identical to the web game, it was time for beauty. Over one night of parallel work, the Unity version got a complete visual overhaul — without changing a comma of the original gameplay, which still matches the web game bit for bit.
Weapons
Lightning leaves a trail and lights up the ground; the Storm calls bolts from the sky; the Blizzard becomes a snow vortex; the Holy Flame warps the air with heat; the Black Sun hovers above the hero. Daggers got sparks, the whip got a rope and splashes, orbs breathe and crystals shatter.
Heroes
The hero now walks, leans, breathes, winds up attacks and glows on level-up. Every ultimate has a charge, a climax — the screen darkens and the camera moves in — and a fade, and every dash has its own signature.
World
Every map has weather: mist, leaves, fireflies, ash, spores. Torches and candles really light the scene, plants sway in the wind and storms flash the screen with lightning. Attack telegraphs grow with energy, impacts raise dust and bosses make dramatic entrances. The Boss Rush arenas gained a cathedral with stained glass, a station with holograms and a garden with water and moonlight.
Two gameplay additions
- Execution: an elite below 20% health (a boss below 8%) staggers; press F, RB on a gamepad or the EXECUTE button on mobile for a cinematic finishing blow that heals, grants brief invulnerability, releases a shockwave and gives gold and XP.
- Void Implosion: the first Unity-exclusive weapon, a well that pulls in the horde and bursts in a ring.
And performance?
With everything on, the stress test runs at 182 to 213 frames per second on a laptop, and the simulation got about 6 times faster with large hordes. For mobile, there is Low quality and a “reduce visual effects” mode that cuts flashes, shakes and glows.
