If you love PvE co-op games but murderous robots are giving you low level PTSD, Cast Outs is here to stir up the genre with a modern take on fantasy. Designed from the ground up for co-op, it takes the usual Dungeons & Dragons tropes of goblins, elves and magic spells, and turns them into a 2-4 player playground to battle in. It's got pedigree too, because while it's the first game from UK studio Twisted Works, that studio is home to veterans who have worked on games like Horizon Forbidden Resident Evil 7, Killzone, and the Total War series.

"Left 4 Dead was one of our early inspirations as one of those games where you had to just realize that you're not going to do this alone," explains James Brace, Twisted Works CEO and the Cast Outs Creative Director.

"There is no single player mode. As a studio, when we approached this game we wanted a very sharp, narrow focus on this genre of co-op combat. As a team, you get to experience a whole bunch of missions and modes, different ways to play. We have runs, not unlike the Left 4 Dead kind of experience, but we also have sandbox areas, we have Horde modes. It balances everything we loved about scripted elements - those cinematic wow moments that we love in games like Left 4 Dead - with these playgrounds that allow a lot more freedom of exploration, and a lot more emergent gameplay."

As one of a team of three refugees from a doomed realm in another dimension, the aim for you and two battle buddies is to fight through a fantastical version of modern day London with a mix of team combos, magical powers and parkour style agility. Talking to the teams there's clearly a lot of thought that's gone into the story - with references to the Dungeons & Dragons movie, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Percy Jackson referenced as team favorites, but the focus is also one letting players create their own weird and wonderful Tiktok share worthy moments.

"We're going to have a lot of visual storytelling, what I call passive storytelling. It's there in the world. You can see it. You can absorb at your pace. It can come through the characters. We can have a lot of lore come through the characters like we've seen in a lot of roster based games, but in terms of your adventure, your run, that's your story. The first kind of thing we wanted to try and do is make sure there's enough dynamics in the experience to create unique stories," says Brace.

In terms of gameplay, Cast Outs is built with short sessions in mind, but adds a progression system to keep you coming back for more. As well as learning your particular preferred combination of magic and run-based, Roguelike lite upgrade systems, there will be cosmetics to show off your Cast Outs skills and tenure, and a charm system.

"While playing, you're collecting ingredients. Those ingredients can be crafted into charms - it's where some of the magic still exists in London from the people who came over - and you can wear these charms and take them into battle," says Brace.

"You're going to have charm slots so you're going to have dilemmas about how many charms you're going to take in. I'll be going, 'Oh what are you carrying in? I'm taking this.' And it's ultimately driving the progression system to get all the charms and to have the most flexibility on play styles. You'll be able to support your team with charms. A lot of our charms aren't individual. They're helping the team more like perks and buffs for the group. I think people are going to like them because it enables you to um, take the classes and turn your tank into a bit more like a support tank or a bit more DPS."

Planned for release on PC, PS5 and Xbox with crossplay, there's no release date yet, but the Twisted Works team is big on playtesting and building its community to help shape the game. Check out the studio's Discord to find out more.

"We're still shocked that through our play testing that players are telling us about and showing us new ways to play with our own magic that we never thought of, which is absolutely fantastic."

Rachel Weber is the Senior Editorial Director of Games at IGN and an elder millennial. She's been a professional nerd since 2006 when she got her start on Official PlayStation Magazine in the UK, and has since worked for GamesIndustry.Biz, Rolling Stone and GamesRadar. She loves horror, horror movies, horror games, and French Bulldogs. Those extra wrinkles on her face are thanks to going time blind and staying up too late finishing every sidequest in RPGs like Fallout and Witcher 3.