Key Highlights:
- Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons revealed its first gameplay during Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026.
- Kaatri can combine familiar D&D spells with melee combat, using magic to interact with enemies and the environment.
- Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons launches in 2027 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons has finally shown off its first gameplay during GAMESCOM opening night live, giving us a much better look at Kaatri, forbidden magic and the dark fantasy world we’ll eventually be exploring.
According to the official Warlock gameplay reveal, the upcoming game from Invoke Studios is a third-person, single-player action-adventure set in an exploration-driven open world inspired by Dungeons & Dragons.
And after seeing it properly in action, this has very quickly become one of the Gamescom games I’m most excited to get my hands on.
Kaatri is a veteran warrior who makes a dangerous pact with the witch Tasha while searching for someone she has lost. That pact turns her into a warlock and gives her access to forbidden magic, but those powers aren’t limited to simply throwing spells at enemies.
Instead, magic can be used throughout combat and exploration, with different spells interacting with enemies and the environment in some pretty interesting ways.
Downpour, for example, lets Kaatri summon a localised storm that drenches enemies and changes the environment around her. Witch Bolt deals lightning damage and can spread through conductive targets, including liquids and metals.
Gust of Wind can push enemies and objects around, disperse gas or even fan flames, while Levitate can lift enemies and objects before slamming them back down.
There are movement options too. Misty Step lets Kaatri teleport short distances and even pass through certain grates, while Fey Switch allows her to swap places with a nearby monster.
It’s this freedom that makes Warlock’s magic system particularly interesting. Rather than spells only existing for combat, they look like tools we’re going to be experimenting with throughout the world.
Magic isn’t Kaatri’s only option when things get violent.
She is already an experienced warrior and can combine forbidden magic with melee weapons during combat, with the environment itself becoming another tool players can use to gain an advantage.
The official spell list also gives us an idea of just how varied those encounters could become. Black Tentacles can hold nearby enemies in place, Tasha’s Leash can pull enemies or objects towards Kaatri before throwing them with force, and Otherworldly Leap can end with a powerful melee attack.
It’s probably the part I’m personally most excited about. The gameplay already looks beautiful, but being able to experiment with different spells and then mix that magic with melee combat looks incredibly fun.
As someone who already enjoys Dungeons & Dragons, seeing familiar magic such as Eldritch Blast and Misty Step translated into a much more action-focused combat system has definitely caught my attention.
The game is built around what Invoke calls systemic combat and player-driven exploration, so hopefully finding creative combinations will be just as important as choosing whichever spell deals the most damage.
Warlock takes place in Darkon, a dark fantasy world where strange mists are beginning to consume the land.
From crumbling castles to forbidden dungeons, Kaatri will explore an open world filled with monsters, hidden powers and mysteries, with the spells she learns also helping to unlock new ways through it.
The visual direction is already one of its biggest draws for me. From the environments to the magical effects during combat, Warlock looks gorgeous in motion and fits the darker fantasy tone Invoke Studios appears to be aiming for.
Kaatri is performed by Tricia Helfer, known for Battlestar Galactica and Lucifer, while the game is being developed by Invoke Studios and published by Wizards of the coast.
Anyone attending GAMESCOM 2026 in Cologne can also find a Warlock experience in Hall 5.2 from August 26–30, where Kaatri is being brought to life by several cosplayers as the first stop on the game’s cosplay world tour.
Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons is currently planned for release in 2027 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
After its first proper gameplay showing, we’ve finally got a much clearer idea of what makes Warlock stand out: plenty of magic, plenty of ways to use it and a Dungeons & Dragons world that looks like it could be incredibly fun to get lost in.
