Cora's Legacy - Demo

Project Overview

Cora's Legacy is a 2D Viking-inspired side-scroller that follows Cora as she returns home to face new threats and increase her strength. Building on the previous games in the series, Cora's Legacy introduces refined combat with melee and ranged abilities, new enemies and hidden treasures. Players can explore newly designed levels, interact with narrative elements such as new NPCs, and upgrade Cora’s skills through an in-game shop, allowing for a new gameplay experience. With enhanced visuals, new animations, and a robust save system, the game offers an engaging blend of action, exploration, and narrative in Unreal Engine 5.

Design Process

Concept Development:
Building on Cora’s Redemption, Cora’s Legacy introduces a deeper, layered experience with upgrades and a persistent shop system. The main goals were to enhance blueprint functionality in Unreal Engine, create a meaningful progression system, and enrich exploration with hidden areas and lore elements.

Prototyping and Iteration:
Core mechanics like combat, shop interactions, and enemy AI were prototyped to test balance and player engagement. Early playtests highlighted the need to adjust coin rewards and upgrade costs, resulting in a refined shop and enemy behavior for a balanced gameplay loop.

Level Design:
Levels blend exploration with clear paths, rewarding players with hidden areas containing treasure and lore. The layout introduces more complex surfaces , challenging players to utilise Cora’s abilities while keeping the experience visually engaging.

AI and Systems Implementation:
Enemy AI was enhanced to adapt based on player upgrades, creating dynamic encounters. Enemy spawners were added to dynamically generate threats like the Pest enemy. The item-based save system retains upgrades and positions, giving strategic weight to player progression and improving replayability through consistent gameplay.

Visual Design and UI Integration:
Visuals were refined with a compact UI to improve immersion. Updated HUD and custom assets provide consistency, while parallax backgrounds add depth, making Cora’s world more engaging than the previous entry.

Features

Cora

Cora has prevailed through two games so far, and is now going into her third and final adventure. However just as it begins, it ends abruptly as she meets some new friends.

Blaze - NPC

Blaze is a character that Cora encounters in the previous entry for the series. She will encounter him later on in the story, where he will help her overcome this new threat.

Lisa - NPC

Lisa is a pyromaniac - a witch obsessed with the power of flames. She also has a pet nestled in her witches hat.

Rey - NPC

Currently, all that is known about Rey is that she wields holy magic, along with a sword and shield. Like Cora, she has the ability to travel great distances rapidly, though the method behind this remains a mystery.

Stigr - World Object

The Stigr statues are ancient, mystical statues scattered throughout the game, offering players both narrative insight and gameplay choices based on selected dialogue options. Depending on the player’s choices, interacting with a Stigr can unlock hidden paths or reveal secrets.

Slide unlock

The slide ability lets Cora move quickly under obstacles and avoid attacks, as well as allowing her to reach new areas.

Shop

The shop lets players spend Mystic Shards to make Cora stronger by upgrading her stats throughout the game.

Thunderclap

This serves as Cora's primary ranged attack, allowing her to hit enemies from a distance with precise throws. The axe can be upgraded to increase its damage, making it a valuable tool

Food

Serve to heal the player.

Extra life

Awards an extra life when collected.

Mystic Shard

Mystic Shards are powerful, magic-infused crystals with a blue exterior and a greenish core.

Locations

Red Caverns

The Red Caverns are an underground network lit by faintly glowing crystals, leading players deeper into the earth. Filled with traps and hidden upgrades, the caverns provide a challenging descent before emerging into the open air of the Orange Coast.

Orange Coast

The Orange Coast is a once-peaceful oasis, now crawling with monsters among its vibrant sands and cliffs. Players can explore hidden paths and alcoves, finding treasures and avoiding ambushes along the coast.

Post-Mortem

In progress.