While I have a soft spot for the darkest, most sinister fantasy worlds, the difficulty of it all can get a little annoying at times. Of course, the same argument could be made at the other end of the spectrum. Cozy games seem locked in a perpetual arms race to get themselves killed, chop off their rivals' hands, and make a glittering jingle on their pastel corpses. But the hand-drawn RPG Heroes Of The Seven Islands feels more authentic than all that. It's bedroom antifolk by way of a chilled-out dungeon synth, by way of an antelope wizard named Jean-Pierre.
It's fun, it's colorful, and I bet it took a long time to make, despite its somewhat jaded tone toward its own existence. It's from Rap2h, who is behind the free interactive fiction The Secret of Darkwoods , which has received a very positive reception from 99 people. It's not a huge number, but it's a nice number. Here's a trailer for Heroes Of The Seven Islands:
Watch on YouTube
It seems to me that this project, at least so far, has interested me more in discovering hand-drawn renditions of various fantasy weirdos than in actually fighting them. Still, I am intrigued by the “reputation” system you can spot in the upper right corner of the screen, and how it ends up affecting how people treat your rat druids and bird knights. Here’s the story setup, as told by the renowned bard Steam:
FURAX THE INDESTRUCTIBLE, a gaunt carcass and a soulless body, has arrived through an interdimensional rift in the colorful and carefree world of Emeyralia, to spread SADNESS and DESPAIR. Nothing seems to be able to stop him: his influence grows day by day, many disciples join him and NIGHTMARE CREATURES appear on all continents.
According to the prophecy, only THE ORACLE could defeat him, but he retreated centuries ago. To find him, you must gather the 7 keys held by the 7 leaders of the 7 islands of the Emerald Archipelago. FOUR HEROES, the bravest of the brave, are chosen for this quest. The future of Emeyralia is in their hands.
The game promises hundreds of hand-drawn animations, which is crazy, because my hand cramps up if I try to draw a single cat. I had to fill out an application to adopt my real cat last week, and I think my wrist is still broken. The combat is “turn-based but fast-paced,” there are main and side quests, and everything is composed by “Dungeon Synth Artists,” though no word on who the artists are. You can find the Steam page here , and the game is slated for release in the first quarter of next year.