Game publisher publisher Maximum Games announced today they wiil be releasing Lichdom: Battlemage for consoles, and is aiming for a Holiday 2015 release.

Maximum Games Announces Console Release

March 30, 2015 (Walnut Creek, CA) - Today, video game publisher Maximum Games announced plans for a console release of Lichdom: Battlemage, a spell-casting game previously available on Steam™ only. Created by Xaviant, the game was received positively at the time of its Windows release, as fans of the mage genre hailed it for its focus on spell-casting as the exclusive form of weaponry used in the game, as well as its deviation from traditional RPG tactics with a more frenetic FPS-driven structure.

The makers of Lichdom: Battlemage have now partnered with Maximum Games to bring the game to the massive console gaming market, since up until now, it has only been playable on PC.  Maximum Games is targeting a Holiday 2015 release.

Lichdom: Battlemage is centered around characters known as Dragons, whose genders are based on the player’s selections at the beginning of the game. Magic is the only weapon that Dragons use throughout the game - no punching, no daggers…just pure, raw magical power. Unlike other spell-casting games, Lichdom: Battlemage has no limit to the amount of magic that can be used – no mana bars, no cooldowns.

Fans of spell-casting games have enthusiastically reviewed Lichdom: Battlemage, praising its attention on mage and its success in blending elements of FPS with a robust spell crafting system.

“The response and reviews of Lichdom: Battlemage have been amazing on PC, and we are thrilled to bring this type of explosive and dynamic title to consoles,” said Len Ciciretto, President of Maximum Games. “This game will feel even more responsive and fluid with a controller in your hands.”

 “Everything about Lichdom: Battlemage is powerful – the combat, the magic, the enemies, the bosses…” said Michael McMain, CEO & Creative Director at Xaviant. “We’re pleased to see the game will be available to more players looking for a unique spell-casting game on console.”

Lichdom: Battlemage is slotted for release later this year. For more information, visit www.maximumgames.com .

Giant Bomb has a new video that gives everyone a quick look at Lichdom: Battlemage.

Dan and Drew sling all sorts of elements at some unruly skeletons.

If you're interested in finding out how Lichdom: Battlemage will play on the PC then head on over to DSO Gaming where they have a new PC Performance Analysis.

Lichdom: Battlemage has been officially released and it’s time to see how this new first person caster performs on the PC platform. Lichdom: Battlemage is powered by Cryengine 3, meaning that the game should scale well on multi-core CPUs. And thankfully, it does. However, the game comes with some really harsh GPU requirements.

Leif Johnson of IGN has posted a new review for Lichdom: Battlemage, and gave the game a final score of 6.5/10 due to various design decisions.

Lichdom: Battlemage suffers from an over-reliance on linear level design and samey enemy types, but few other games deliver such a memorable brand of action-packed magic combat. The loot-driven nature of its complex but rewarding spellcrafting evokes some of the thrill of Diablo or Borderlands, and the resulting customization allows for multiple playstyles to shine. It's a challenging and occasionally frustrating beast, but the magic of Lichdom: Battlemage is that such struggles make achieving victory all the more rewarding.

Here is a new batch of reviews for the recently released ARG? Lichdom: Battlemage.

PC Gamer - 76/100

A beautiful and difficult action-RPG that rewards risk-taking—the complex magic system makes up for the bits that just aren’t worth playing over and over.

Gamingtrend - 80/100

Lichdom: Battlemage is a clever and exciting arcade style action-RPG, which can be a lot more fun than one might expect. The battles are challenging, the magic system is as diverse as advertised, and the play mechanics do a pretty good job pulling it all together. A few rough edges here and there, in combination with the game’s high requirements can lead to some embarrassing hiccups and broken moments, but it’s nothing that gets in the way of the overall experience.

Gameinformer - 8/10

Lichdom: Battlemage is an interesting and enjoyable take on first-person fantasy with lots of customization to dive into. I’m hoping this initial effort leads to an even more polished sequel for Xaviant down the line.

MMORPG.com - 7/10

Lichdom: Battlemage is a fun, if shortsighted RPG with some fantastic upsides. Is it worth the asking price of $40? I’d say no at this point, and hold out for a Steam sale. It’s definitely something fans of the old Hexen will enjoy, but fans of open ended RPGs will find Xaviant’s game lacking. A solid effort, but not quite what I’d hoped for after seeing the game at PAX East this year.

Xaviant Games annouces on the Steam foum that Lichdom: Battlemage has left Beta ,and is now available for purchase & download for everyone for $39.99 on Steam.

Lichdom: Battlemage, Full Game Available Now!

Welcome to the first game where the the Mage is an unmitigated badass! With no mana pools or cool-downs, Lichdom: Battlemage throws out all of the classic tropes of playing a Mage. No longer is the character marginalized so that other classes can adventure through the same levels, and finally the true jaw-dropping potential of magic has been realized.

Lichdom: Battlemage is a first-person caster that focuses entirely on the Mage. With limitless magical power at your disposal and brutal enemies around every corner, victory hinges on a combination of skill and strategy. You must carefully craft a vast array of spells and learn to cast them in the heat of combat.

You are your spells!

The Lichdom: Battlemage spell crafting system offers an enormous range of customization.

Every Mage is the product of crafted magic that reflects the individual's play style. Whether you prefer to target your foes from a safe distance, wade into combat and unleash your power at point-blank range, or pit your enemies against each other, endless spell customization lets you become the Mage you want to be.

Key Features

• The first game completely empower the mage – no mana or cool-downs.
• The deepest spell crafting system in the world with literally thousands of possibilities.
• Unprecedented character customization – you are your spells.
• Brutal enemies relentlessly challenge you throughout the game.
• Core game and New Game Plus provide hundreds of hours of gameplay.
• CryENGINE® 3 provides a beautifully violent experience.
• This story is only a small glimpse into a much greater universe.

Click here for more details.

Saving Content has a new video preview of Lichdom: Battlemage which is still only available on Steam Early Access right now for those intrested in buying the game.

Xaviant Games is happy to announce Lichdom: Battlemage has entered Beta. They also released a new build, and discounted the game for 20% off on Steam.

Lichdom: Battlemage Enters BETA, New Build Available!

We're happy to announce that Lichdom: Battlemage has entered the BETA phase of Early Access! Below you will find the Build Notes for this version of the game.  For more details & discussion, please visit the official forum thread.

NOTE: This update will invalidate save data from all previous builds. You must start a new game. Sorry.

Visit the link above for the huge list of changes.

PC Game has a new review for the Early Access version of Lichdom: Battlemage.

Lichdom: Battlemage review (Early Access)

Although Xaviant plans to add more enemy types and several additional levels, the alpha’s already-mature magic system is Lichdom’s real draw at the moment. The developer’s claim to offer up to 12 hours of game time in the alpha feels about right, depending on how long it takes to learn the basics of spellcrafting. The version I played was stable, but had at least one spell upgrade bug and an issue that saw NPCs sometimes disappear when replaying a level.

Lichdom is an unfinished, but pretty-looking and complex action RPG. The story’s focus on revenge pushes me to seek out power and devise new ways to burn, smash, and corrupt my enemies. It’s a classic wizarding tale, but one that fits Lichdom’s look and feel almost perfectly. With a lot more guidance from the game for a player’s initial playthrough, I’m hopeful the full release will live up to its obvious ambition.

Verdict

A punchy and difficult first-person action RPG with a story I want to see to the end. I’d wait for the full release so that all the time invested in mastering the game’s deep magic system can be used to experience the complete adventure.

Outlook

Good. Lichdom is set to enter beta in late July before its August 26 launch. The full game should see multiple new levels, more varied enemies, and additional tutorials. With more explanation in-game about the workings of its crafting mechanic, the result could be spectacular.

Xaviant Games announced on Steam that Lichdom: Battlemage has entered Alpha.

Lichdom: Battlemage Enters Alpha, New Build Available

Lichdom: Battlemage has entered the Alpha phase! Please note that previous save games are not compatible and you will need to start a new game.

For more detail, please visit the official forum thread.

GamerHub.TV interviewed Xaviant founder Michael McMain to talk about Lichdom: Battlemage, and shared some new gameplay footage from E3.

Xaviant founder Michael McMain previews the latest gameplay from Lichdom
Battlemage in this exclusive gameplay interview from E3 2014

GamerHub TV has posted a video interview with Xaviant from Pax East last month, and talk about their Early Access game Lichdom: Battlemage.

I found a new cinematic  trailer for Lichdom: Battlemage on MachinimaRealm.

Lichdom: Battlemage is the first game where the mage is an unmitigated badass. Are you? http://store.steampowered.com/app/261760

Imagine a conflict that has waged throughout history, under the watchful eye of an all-powerful figure. A king, a conqueror, or a prophet, he's shaped the fate of nations. His name is Roth and in every age, he creates a weapon to fight this battle against the forces of decay. He finds someone with nothing to lose, and gives them new purpose and great power. Now imagine if Roth chose you.

TruePCGaming take a look at the Early Access version of Lichdom: Battlemage in a new eighteen minute video. They don't provide a transcript of the video.

Games Abyss managed to get an interview with Xaviant Games at PAX East 2014 to ask a few questions about their new game Lichdom: Battlemage.

Do you love mages, western style RPGs, and crushing your foes with fiery blazes, icy chills, and other mystical forces of destruction? Chances are you'll fall head over heels in love with Lichdom Battlemage. To say this game came out of nowhere wouldn't be completely accurate, but certainly nobody expected them to have the prominent presence they did on the PAX East show floor. We had the privilege of speaking with design director Tim Lindsey of Xaviant Games about their convention experience and what's being done to better spotlight the spellslinging mechanics of Lichdom Battlemage. So sheathe your swords and toss em aside, because it's time to explore the uninhibited potential of the age old spell in this homage to magic dominance.

GamerHub.TV interviewed Xaviant at GDC 2014 to talk about Lichdom: Battlemage.

Xaviant developer previews the new Lichdom Battlemage game at GDC 2014 in this exclusive interview from San Francisco.

Here are two new previews of Lichdom: Battlemage from PAX East 2014.

Twinfinite

Raw power feels great, and that’s exactly what you get in Lichdom. Right away, you’ll be receiving three primary elements: fire, ice, and corruption (there will be nine in total). Any combination of the three results in different ways to dispatch your enemies. You can shoot your spells forward, cast a large area-of-effect attack on any spot in front of you, or raise a magic shield with each corresponding abilities to block or parry enemy attacks. It’s this arsenal and several other abilities, such as a specific dodge that slows down time temporarily, that you must harness to deliver whatever deadly combinations you prefer. And there is a ton of different combinations you can use.

TwoDashStash

Overall, there seems to be good things coming from Xaviant. Lichdom: Battlemage is certainly a game to keep an eye on in the coming weeks. This game can be purchased now on Steam, which gets players into the Early Access program. As with all games in development, feedback is important! Equally important is being forgiving of glitches, as they are bound to happen. Lichdom is definitely worth the ride from alpha to release. Take it, if you can.

Xaviant Games has two tutorial videos for Lichdom: Battlemage on the games Steam forum that some of you might be interested in watching to see the game in action.

Start your gameplay off right by watching our two newest tutorial videos for Lichdom: Battlemage. In our first video, we explain how to move around and cause massive magical destruction as a Battlemage. Our second video gives you the basics spell crafting, which you will use to personalize your Battlemage.

Xaviant announces their game is now called Lichdom: Battlemage, and that it will be available on Steam Early Access March 19th. Here are the details on Steam.

Now Available on Steam Early Access - Lichdom: Battlemage

Lichdom: Battlemage is a first-person caster that gives the Mage the spotlight in a way never before seen in games. With limitless magical power at your disposal and brutal enemies around every corner, victory hinges on a combination of skill and strategy. You must carefully craft a vast array of spells and learn to cast them in the heat of combat.

You are your spells! The Lichdom: Battlemage spell crafting system offers an enormous range of customization. Every Mage is the product of of crafted magic that reflects the individual's play style. Whether you prefer to target your foes from a safe distance, wade into combat and unleash your power at point-blank range, or pit your enemies against each other, endless spell customization lets you become the Mage you want to be.

Xaviant has a new blog post with Lead Quality Assurance Analyst Rick Helmig.

Salutations, Lichdom aficionados!  My name is Rick Helmig and I’m the official ‘Assayer of Human Frailties’…or if you prefer, Lead Quality Assurance Analyst at Xaviant.  And I’m writing to share a bit of insight into our daily on-goings here in the studio as we edge closer to unleashing Lichdom: Redeemer upon the masses.

Xaviant has a new blog post with John Schuch the Lead Level Designer of Lichdom.

Greetings Lichdom fans, John Schuch here, lead level designer on Lichdom Redeemer.  I’m taking a break from the grindstone that is CryEngine Sandbox to talk a little about the work that gets done on game levels as development gets close to alpha – and beyond.

I’d like to begin with a quick overview of how the level design process begins and how you get to where we are now, nearing alpha, to provide perspective.

Xaviant has a blog post from last month that I missed for Lichdom.

Making great art, quality software, or engaging gameplay… each of these is challenging enough by themselves. So, it stands to reason that combining these disciplines into a single medium is not only vastly more compelling, but also vastly harder to do. Juggling the competing priorities, desires, and dependencies of all the smart and talented people brought together by a game production is made even more complex by dramatic differences in interpretation, language, and philosophy. These difficulties give rise to unique disciplines in game production, such as Tech Art.

My name is Raymond Stewart and I am the Lead Technical Artist at Xaviant. My role on Lichdom is to help the Art Department fulfill the vision of Art Direction within the constraints of Engineering’s technical requirements, and demands of scope driven by Production and Design. This requires enough awareness in each of those disciplines to facilitate communication, best practices, and management of dependencies that lay at the core of integrating Art production into what is really a software product.

Xaviant has a new blog post about the story of Lichdom.

Hello everyone, my name is Brian Freyermuth, the Lead Content Designer over here at Xaviant. Like the bards of old, the content team and I are here to take you on a road trip to another world, where you’ll become part of an epic journey through strange and wondrous lands. Come and see how we take a seed of an idea and make an interactive story filled with excitement, loss and hope. You’ll discover our writing philosophies and story planning techniques as we take you with us on the epic adventure of Lichdom: Redeemer.

AMD has released a new video for Lichdom showing off their True Audio technology.

Get an aural glimpse of AMD TrueAudio technology in the upcoming game LICHDOM (http://www.lichdom.com) - a single-player, first-person action game with an emphasis on role-playing and crafting spells. The game takes players on an adventure of godly proportions, pitting humans against the forces of worldly decay: corruption, greed, and decadence. Wielding magic like a weapon across vast, unpredictable and mythical landscapes, players face cunning enemies and daunting challenges in a battle for the ultimate prize: control of the world and everything in it.

AMD TrueAudio technology introduces a new level of immersion. GPUs aren't just for graphics any more. With more acoustic bandwidth and capabilities for developers to play with, plus a healthy slug of extra audio performance, you get a richer in-game soundscape. You'll hear your opponents coming with breathtaking audio realism. It's your game taken to an entirely new dimension. Radeon™ is faster. Radeon is immersive. Radeon is gaming.

DSO Gaming interviews Xaviant about Lichdoms Tech , Multicore CPU Support, Global Illumination, PC Options, Tessellation, and much more.

DSOGaming: Lichdom will be powered by CryENGINE. Can you share more tech details about it? What features will it support (number of simultaneous light sources, Parallax Occlusion Mapping and Screen Space Reflections support, whether it will have a full dynamic shadowing system, procedural GPGPU weather, physically based shading, etc.)?

Jeremiah Cauthorn: There is no real upper bound beyond raw GPU performance to the number of simultaneous light sources. For example, we have some particle effects that use a dynamic light per particle.

We do use both Parallax Occlusion Mapping and screenspace reflections, all shadows are fully dynamic.

DSOGaming: What made you choose CryENGINE over other engines (like Unreal Engine 4 for example)?

Michael McMain: We did a lot of early prototyping in Gamebryo’s Lightspeed engine. During that time, I had the opportunity to see a keynote at the Europe GDC about Crytek’s engine and their plans to license to third parties. Having played Crysis, I was already in love with the rendering capabilities of this engine. CryENGINE allows us to make a game that looks distinctly different than many of the games out there and that played a big part in our choice. It turns out to have been a great decision as they have been wonderful partners for us.

DSOGaming: How big will the game’s maps be and what kind of interactivity and destructibility can we expect? What physics middleware are you using?

Tim Lindsey: Our maps are substantial. We are delivering a world comprised of 10 maps that range in size, with several of our largest being 2 kilometers square. We are delivering gameplay through drastically different locations to give players an idea of the contrast within our world’s landscape. We are using the CryENGINE physics system to deliver a ton of environment collateral damage to your magical encounters.

Xaviant has released a new video in which four gamers playtest Lichdom, and a few developers provide explacommentary.

On October 24, 2013, Xaviant invited four gamers to playtest Lichdom, which we recorded and broadcast. CEO and Creative Director Michael McMain and Design Director Tim Lindsey provide commentary during the playtest, and Producer Josh Van Veld interviews the gamers about their impressions of the game.
To learn more about Lichdom

The Examiner interviewed Michael McCain the CEO of Xaviant to ask some questions  about his upcoming ARPG Lichdom.

What were some of the biggest influences for Lichdom, its world, its characters, powers and other parts of it? Do any franchises stick out in particular?

Lichdom is influenced by the components of three different video games. First, our gameplay is most heavily influenced by Borderlands. The action, the way the enemies behave, the approach to level design and our encounters are all reminiscent of that gameplay. Secondly, our boss encounters are influenced by Dark Souls, where large-scale enemies rely on abilities they can chose to employ at random, rather than heavily scripted events you might see in other large-boss games. And finally, our loot collection is most heavily influenced by Diablo, where you collect varieties of rare and powerful items and use those items to grow in strength as you progress through the game.

The thing that sets us apart from any game is our approach to crafting. Magic is really your only tool. Because of this, our crafting of spells is a very deep and engaging exercise. The initial Spell Cores handed to you by the game are few in number but fundamentally different from each other. The player grows in power by taking these Spell Cores and adding other reagents to craft new spells in unique ways.

Can you elaborate on the story a bit more? What role will Roth be playing as players progress through the plot? Is the end game going to be the same for everyone or will choice be a major factor in Lichdom?

Imagine a world where every great ruler is secretly the same individual perpetuating himself throughout the centuries. In the world of Lichdom, this individual is Roth. He is a shadow that guides mankind to greatness each time he steps forward. Now, in his sixth age, Roth has selected you to be his instrument of power. You will use his amazing gift of magic to cut out the cancer that seeks to utterly destroy the world.

Our motto at Xaviant is: You will feel everything. The story of Lichdom is a vivid tale where you are the center of an epic turning-point in the world. The player chooses between playing a male or a female character. Although the story will stay the same, each side of the tale will be distinctly different.

Tweaktown has a new preview video for Lichdom from the the AMD GPU14 Tech Event.

Shortly after yesterday's keynote at the AMD GPU14 Tech Event, our own Shawn Baker had the chance to preview some cool games, of which Lichdom was the first. Lichdom is a magic spell crafting style game in which you are left to roam the realm which is filled with aggressive NPCs, ghost, and monsters. Players can craft over a million different spells and then chain them together to create devastating and deadly combos.

Lichdom is a new CryEngine single-player RPG from Xaviant a Atlanta-based independent game developer. So give it a look if your interested it doesn't look that bad, and I even have some screenshots.

Lichdom is a single-player, first-person action game with an emphasis on role-playing and crafting spells. The game takes players on an adventure of godly proportions, pitting humans against the forces of worldly decay: corruption, greed, and decadence. Wielding magic like a weapon across vast, unpredictable and mythical landscapes, players face cunning enemies and daunting challenges in a battle for the ultimate prize: control of the world and everything in it.