Ubisoft Montreal’s For Honor

IGN’s hands-on impressions to get the full scoop on how the game’s unique tri-directional attacking and blocking system works.

We had the opportunity to chat with Creative Director Jason Vandenberghe about the project and managed to get answers to a bunch of our burning questions:

Loading

Although multiplayer is the only aspect of For Honor being shown off right now, the game will have a single-player campaign.

This is a game based on history, not fantasy. Don’t expect any dragons or wizards to pop up in the campaign.

For Honor is not free-to-play. (We had to ask.)

You can play as both male and female heroes.

In the E3 demo you can only play as generic knights. The final game will feature Samurai vs. Vikings vs. Knights faction combat. Each faction has its own specialty and unique gameplay characteristics.

The final game will also feature specific named heroes with their own unique characteristics - you won’t always play as a nameless, personality-free warrior.

Loading

For Honor’s E3 demo features a territory control mode called Dominion that moves players around the map effectively and ensures you’ll never have to go long without having an opponent in your face. The final game will feature a variety of multiplayer modes that follow archetypes commonly seen in shooters.

Special abilities are mapped to the D-Pad, and are unlocked if you manage to score consecutive skills. These supers include options like a self-healing, a buff for any nearby teammates, and a “catapult” that essentially drops a meteor on an area of your choosing.

The human-controlled heroes aren’t the only units on the battlefield. Dozens of AI-controlled fodder units can always be found clashing in the middle of the fight, and players can take them out with a succession of quick attacks to score a few extra points.

Almost all of For Honor’s gameplay revolves around the left and right trigger, but if you manage to land a killing blow with a heavy attack, you can perform a flashy kill animation via the controller’s face buttons.

For Honor E3 2015 Official Screenshots 11 IMAGES

Mobile users: please swipe the image above to start the slideshow.

For Honor is releasing on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. For now Ubisoft isn’t discussing any release window. IGN will have much more on For Honor in the coming weeks and months, and remember to hit up IGN.com/E3 for the complete scoop on all of the hottest upcoming video games.

Justin Davis is the second or third best-looking Editor at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter at @ErrorJustin and on IGN.