Wolcen 2: Review, Release and Gameplay

Wolcen 2 is the upcoming sequel to the isometric action RPG Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem, which WOLCEN Studio announced in August 2026.

The game continues the dark fantasy ARPG direction with a focus on fast-paced combat, character progression without strict class restrictions, gear collection, and creating custom builds.

At this stage, the project is still in early development. There is no exact full release date, while the PC Early Access launch is planned for 2027. The developers are taking a more open development approach built around player testing to avoid the issues that affected the first game.

• Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4216080/Wolcen_2/

The biggest change in Wolcen 2 compared with the original game is the new technical foundation.

While Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem was built on an older version of CryEngine, the sequel is moving entirely to Unreal Engine 5. This transition is expected to improve visual quality, scaling across different PC hardware configurations, and prepare the game for modern console releases. The developers have also redesigned the networking architecture: instead of the previous system, the sequel uses a listen-server peer-to-peer model designed for cooperative play without constant dependence on dedicated servers. For players, this should provide a more stable co-op experience and allow the game to be supported more effectively after launch.

Wolcen 2 gameplay follows the classic ARPG formula: players fight through large groups of enemies, collect new equipment, combine abilities, and gradually strengthen their characters.

At the same time, the developers are keeping one of the original game’s main features — freedom of character creation without traditional classes such as warrior, mage, or archer. Players will develop their characters through weapons, skills, passive abilities, and skill upgrade systems. The early version is planned to include around 25 abilities, five weapon types, and the Skill Mastery system, which will allow players to modify the properties and behavior of abilities. The full release is expected to increase the number of abilities by more than two times.

The story of Wolcen 2 continues the events of the first game several years later:

• The world is on the edge of destruction, and the main character once again becomes the Warlord — a figure connected to Shadow powers and ancient supernatural conflicts.
• Alongside companions, the protagonist becomes involved in a prophecy where saving the world requires a difficult choice and a possible sacrifice.
• The developers promise a stronger focus on storytelling, the consequences of decisions, and conflicts against forces that go beyond a traditional fantasy war.

However, it is still unknown how deep the choice system will be or whether decisions will significantly affect campaign progression.

The Early Access campaign will be much smaller than the final version:

1. During the first stage, developers plan to include one complete act with side quests, around 32 enemy types, eight bosses, approximately 150 equipment items, and a limited selection of gameplay systems.
2. After development is completed, the game is planned to expand to three acts, around 70 enemy variations, approximately 15 major bosses and mini-bosses, along with more biomes and gameplay areas.

This approach shows that Wolcen 2 is being developed as a long-term project rather than a finished game released immediately in its final form.

Endgame in Wolcen 2 will become one of the most important elements because this was one of the weakest aspects of the original game.

The developers have already confirmed the Tower of Wonders system — a challenge mode focused on farming specific rewards, where players can influence the difficulty and conditions of each ascent. This mode is expected to become the foundation of replayability after completing the story campaign: players will hunt for rare items, optimize builds, and push higher difficulty levels.

The developers have also announced continued equipment progression, new activities, and expanded character systems after the 1.0 release.

Visually, Wolcen 2 appears to be an attempt to preserve one of the strongest aspects of the original game — its presentation — while rebuilding it on a more modern foundation.

The first game was often praised for lighting, spell effects, armor details, and its dark fantasy atmosphere, although technical problems affected the overall experience. Unreal Engine 5 gives the developers access to modern lighting and optimization tools, but early Pre-Alpha footage has already received mixed reactions: some players see strong potential in the visual direction, while others point out that animation quality and combat responsiveness still need significant improvement.

The developers have confirmed that the shown footage represents a very early build and does not reflect the final quality of the game.

Now, as far as the cooperative is concerned, Wolcen 2 will not have a shared open world with other players like Diablo 4.

• The developers describe the game as an isometric dark fantasy ARPG designed for solo play or co-op with up to four players.
• The cooperative mode is built around private sessions: one player hosts the game, and other players join that session.
• The game uses a listen-server peer-to-peer architecture, meaning multiplayer relies on direct player connections rather than permanent dedicated servers.
• This structure is much closer to Diablo 3 or Path of Exile played in a party than Diablo 4, where players constantly encounter others in shared towns, open zones, and world events.

There is currently no confirmation that Wolcen 2 will feature random players appearing around you, shared cities, public world events, or a full shared-world MMO-style structure.

Based on the current information from the developers, Wolcen 2 appears to use an instance-based world design: you and your group progress through the campaign together, fight in the same locations, develop your characters, and complete endgame activities, but you will not see dozens of unrelated players nearby as you would in Diablo 4.

The developers are focusing on cooperative campaign progression and supporting groups of up to four players rather than creating a persistent online world.

In other words, the expected format is:

• Solo → your own campaign experience.
• Co-op → you and up to three friends.
• MMO features and a shared open world with other players → not announced at this time.

The biggest question surrounding Wolcen 2 is not only its mechanics but also whether the studio can rebuild player trust.

The original Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem had significant potential, but after release it faced criticism because of technical problems, changes compared with early promises, and an endgame that many players considered insufficiently deep. Because of that, the community reaction to the sequel announcement has been mixed: some players are willing to give the studio another chance because of the move to Unreal Engine 5 and the focus on open testing, while others remain cautious and want to see proof of quality before purchasing.

At this point, Wolcen 2 looks like an ambitious rebuild of the ideas behind the first game: the project has a strong foundation — flexible builds, dark fantasy, cooperative gameplay, and plans for continued development after launch — but its success will depend on whether the studio can deliver on its promises and create a truly deep ARPG capable of competing with Diablo, Path of Exile, and other major games in the genre.