At the G-STAR 2025 game show held in Busan, South Korea, Netmarble demonstrated their 4-player cooperative action game "EVILBANE", which will be launched on the PC/Xbox Series X|S platform.The game was previously called "PROJECT EVILBANE", but in order to coincide with the G-STAR Game Show, the official name was changed to "EVILBANE".

"EVILBANE" is a four-player cooperative multiplayer action game that uses the "Raven" series IP, including the MMORPG "Raven 2" launched in Japan in May 2025.

The world view of the game is still the classic dark fantasy style, but this game is a derivative work that changes the game type.The world view of this game is an expansion of "A Certain Anecdote" of "Raven 2" and seems to be set in the same timeline as "Raven 2".

The live demo only included the single-player mode, with the multiplayer mode only being showcased on the event stage.Therefore, this experience is single player.

After the game starts, players can choose from four characters: Balmain, a knight in heavy armor; Sienna, who is elegant; Pelia, who seems to have a troubled past; and Irene, who shows amazing determination from behind.

Each character is equipped with a giant melee weapon of their size, as well as a rapid-fire submachine gun, allowing them to perform both ranged and melee attacks.There is virtually no lag when switching weapons, allowing players to execute melee attacks smoothly and easily.

During the trial, I chose Erin and entered the battle directly without any plot introduction.This may be to highlight the combat experience, or it may be because the game is still relatively low-completion.

Game operations include character movement and perspective control, as well as a variety of attack actions such as sprinting, jumping and rolling (dodge actions).The basic framework of the 3D action game seems to have been completed.

The character has health and stamina, but the "potion" that restores health is consumed very quickly.Skilled players rarely die during recovery.In addition, the game also includes defense features, so the characters have high defense capabilities.

Of course, the enemy may also attack before you have time to recover or defend.

The attack mode can be instantly switched between melee and long-range.If you get hit by a boss's melee attack, you can easily weaken its health with ranged attacks.In addition, the game also includes melee and ranged weapon skills, as well as two "Sky Stone" skills - this original item also appeared in "Raven 2" - that can unleash powerful area-of-effect attacks.Although each skill has a cooldown, they are still very useful.

All in all, there are two weapons and four skills to use in combat.Other features include a "finishing attack" similar to Raven 2's "finishing move."In addition, there is a limited-time enhancement system "Weapon Awakening" that seems to improve weapon performance.Depending on the enemy, the game also provides "QTE actions" that allow you to dodge powerful attacks and counterattack.The four emoticons can be activated by a single button (keyboard and mouse; use a combination of buttons on the handle) to facilitate communication during multiplayer games.

Weak enemies can be easily dispatched by simply sweeping with a large weapon.For players, this feeling will undoubtedly remind them of the Warriors series, especially Dynasty Warriors.However, scenes where enemies swarm in groups are rare, and you'll usually face squads of three to five.

Despite this, the refreshing attack movements and gorgeous graphics can still make people feel like a matchless game.Again, this action game is such a great experience that it made me feel that way.

Boss battles, on the other hand, are completely different, with slow and progressive combat.The damage balance is well done and you'll probably need to hit them a hundred or two hundred times to defeat them.

However, it doesn't exactly play like a Souls-based game.The boss's attacks are just as flashy as ours, but there are plenty of ways to dodge them.Weak enemies will appear without restriction.

The combat system is different from both Dynasty Warriors and Monster Hunter, and it's clear that the game is aiming for a unique fantasy style.

The character's movements are generally light and agile, and even seemingly heavy movements can be completed quickly.The stop-motion animations when attacks hit are also exciting, and the basic structure of the game is clearly visible here.

On the other hand, I was bothered by the lack of specific reactions after being attacked by enemies.Counter mechanics like stiffening tend to lead to negative experiences, so I'm in favor of removing them.

However, even with normal controls, the screen looked so gimmicky that a player next to me, who seemed unfamiliar with the game, suddenly died while attacking.While games have a common mechanic of adding a red filter to the corners of the screen when health is low, I don't feel like they even noticed.

Given that this is still a demo, I expect some tweaks to be made in the future.If that's the case, I think utilizing the controller's vibration feature or other forms of feedback could help prevent accidental deaths for newcomers to action games.

This game is not a single-player game that supports multiplayer, but is "designed with multiplayer as its core concept, but also supports single-player play."It's unclear how growth elements in the game, such as the various weapon systems, will be implemented, but it's safe to assume that the game isn't aiming to be arcade-y.Therefore, the game is likely to incorporate some kind of mechanism to allow players to feel the accumulation of gaming experience.By the way, in the multiplayer mode of the live demonstration, four players were engaged in a fierce battle with a powerful boss. The visual impact alone was enough to make people feel "full of fun".This seems to be a very suitable game to play with friends who love action games. Therefore, it may be a good choice to understand the world view of "Raven 2" in advance to prepare for the official release of the game.By doing this, your knowledge of the game world will undoubtedly help you achieve victory faster.