Avencast: Rise of the Mage Preview

The folks at Hooked Gamers bring us a two-page preview of ClockStone Software upcoming action RPG, Avencast: Rise of the Mage.
Avencast undoubtedly possesses the same presence as the old Diablo, which itself was based mainly on even older Rogue-like games (Hack, Nethack, Rogue). You move around in similar dungeons, battling various enemies, performing quests, seeking the main villain etc. etc. However, since Avencast focuses more on player skill rather than character stats, it also reminds me of the old arcade fantasy-themed hack'n'slashes, Gauntlet and Gauntlet II, where you roamed dungeons alone or with friends, killing monsters and picking up treasures. Avencast may be deeper than these old classics, but definitely shares some similarities with them. Thus, it is surprising that Avencast does not offer multiplayer features out of the box. However, the developers have hinted at the possibility of an add-on that would introduce such features and perhaps allow you to play the game in co-op mode.