There Drew is bonded to a fearsome and noble dragon, Thuban, the last of his kind. These two lone-wolf heroes thrown together by fate must learn to fight as one to defeat the powerful enemies that threaten Draconis, Earth and a vast universe of parallel worlds.

At gamescom this year, we wanted to dive deeper into dragons. Specifically, how you’ll be able to customize Thuban and what it means to work together with him in combat.

Dragon DNA is the system that covers all of the customization you can do in Scalebound: It is comprised of three different tools – morphing, parts and armor – that allow each player to build a truly unique partner in the world of Draconis.

We’ve already shown off our three core dragon types to choose from – the Rex, Tank and Wyvern – but the possibilities are much grander with morphing. These types are connected in an evolutionary circle and by using gems at a dragon shrine, players will be able to blend both their physical and visual attributes, whether it’s the strength of the Tank or the swiftness of the Wyvern. You can even make our personal favorite – fat Rex. He’s a blend of a Tank and a Rex that is a bit slower than a normal Rex, but can also take and deal more damage.

Next up is dragon parts. These are permanent buffs (you are changing the dragon’s DNA, after all) that alter the physical appearance and boost the elemental characteristics of Thuban (you’ll see an example below). Appearing in Berserker Mode, which is like Dragon Form for Dragons, you can imagine these parts as organic and animalistic extensions of Thuban’s body. These cover offensive buffs, while armor covers defensive.

Unlike morphing or parts, armor is made by human hands. Players will buy armor using currency that is earned by defeating enemies, completing quests or finding in game, mixing and matching to boost Thuban’s defenses. Armor can also be destroyed in battle, so it must be maintained during the game. One of our favorite armor sets is reflected in the upfront image.

Once you’ve set up Thuban to match your play style, how does this resonate in combat? That’s where Dragon Link comes in. We’re debuting Dragon Link as a way to directly control Thuban through Drew’s point of view, making your dragon a playable character. Using a button press, you’ll be able to switch in and out of the mode to exploit enemy weaknesses and create openings for Drew.

This collaboration with Thuban translates into the stylish-action that so many fans of PlatinumGames have come to know and love. High-level play really opens up when you take control of Thuban and use him to complement Drew; however, when Drew is using Dragon Link, he is defenseless, so you have to be really smart about where and when you use this critical technique. It also creates a fun metagame in multiplayer where you cover each other as you use your different dragon’s unique abilities in Dragon Link.

It’s best to think of Drew and Thuban as two keys in Scalebound. It’s all about deciding which one to use to open a single lock and progress through the journey. Today, we shared details on how Dragon DNA and Dragon Link make this possible and can’t wait to reveal even more in the future.

Jean Pierre Kellams, Creative Producer at PlatinumGames

Key Features:

• Epic Battles on an Unbelievable Scale: Master accessible but deep “stylish action” gameplay using a variety of weapons, battle strategies and skills. Fluidly chain attacks with your dragon to unleash devastating combos against colossal enemies in amazing boss battles.

  Play Your Way: Cutting-edge Co-op Multiplayer: Adventure on your own or join friends to explore the world of Draconis, complete custom quests and battle massive creatures together, alongside your dragons.* Dynamically-generated quests create new objectives based on play style and user activity.

  Explore a Beautiful, Evolving World: Forge your own adventure as you traverse across the vast world of Draconis, brought to life through a distinct, vibrant art style and stunning visuals at 1080p resolution on Xbox One and up to 4K on Windows 10. Defeat enemies to help the world flourish and gain access to unique items.

  Customize your Hero and Dragon: Choose the armor and weapons that best match your play style. Select your favorite dragon (winged serpent, four legged tank – and more) and then evolve your companion’s unique abilities and attacks as well as its appearance. In co-op, you can customize your dragon and play style to create unique combat strategies with other players.

  Shared Progression across Xbox One and Windows 10: “Scalebound” supports cross-save between Xbox One and Windows 10, so you can seamlessly switch between devices and pick up where you left off.