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Tags: Ctrl Alt Ninja; Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest
Back in 2014, Almost Human released the modern classic Legend of Grimrock 2. Having perfected the genre they set out to revive, its developers scattered to the four winds. Nobody was expecting them to resurface two and a half years later as a new studio called Ctrl Alt Ninja and with a game that couldn't be more different. You've heard the story before. Within less than a year, Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest had transformed from a procedurally generated forest exploration roguelike into a deterministic set piece-based tactics game inspired by the likes of HeroQuest and Into the Breach. With little hype and marketing fanfare, the game went through alpha and beta and now it's out. Instead of another trailer, Ctrl Alt Ninja have recorded an official 15 minute gameplay video, which is always a good idea. Watch it here:
Evil is afoot in Menhir Forest. The druids, the caretakers of the woods, are troubled: their archdruid has disappeared under deeply suspicious circumstances, and a cancerous growth of purple cysts is spreading, carrying corruption and sickness wherever they appear. It takes a special kind of hero to save the day. Or maybe more than one.
Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest is a labor of love from the co-creators of the critically acclaimed Legend of Grimrock series. Druidstone is a tactical, single-player, turn-based roleplaying game, which combines the best qualities of modern RPGs with the elegance of tactical boardgames. Every action, every turn counts as you control your party of heroes through handcrafted, challenging missions with varying, and often surprising, objectives.
Set in a unique fantasy world, Druidstone is filled with ancient lush forests, standing stones, snow-topped mountains, deadly creatures and puzzle-ridden ruins. And somewhere in the middle of all of this, caught in the flow of events, are Aava, the archdruid's daughter, who must now shoulder his responsibilities, Leonhard, a warden with a mysterious past and a lethal destiny, and Oiko, the failed Red Priest who is living proof that one may be very smart without being particularly wise. Along the way, they meet companions and villains, whose unique personalities and abilities make every encounter memorable.
Key Features
These guys are clearly professionals who know how to make a polished game, but have their design instincts successfully transferred to this new genre? Early reports tell of a simple yet remarkably difficult game with challenging optional objectives and punishing countdowns. There's only one review that I can find right now, but we hope to have one of our own in the not-too-distant future. If you'd like to offer your own opinion, you can grab Druidstone now at Steam or GOG for $25 with a 5% launch discount until next week.
Back in 2014, Almost Human released the modern classic Legend of Grimrock 2. Having perfected the genre they set out to revive, its developers scattered to the four winds. Nobody was expecting them to resurface two and a half years later as a new studio called Ctrl Alt Ninja and with a game that couldn't be more different. You've heard the story before. Within less than a year, Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest had transformed from a procedurally generated forest exploration roguelike into a deterministic set piece-based tactics game inspired by the likes of HeroQuest and Into the Breach. With little hype and marketing fanfare, the game went through alpha and beta and now it's out. Instead of another trailer, Ctrl Alt Ninja have recorded an official 15 minute gameplay video, which is always a good idea. Watch it here:
Evil is afoot in Menhir Forest. The druids, the caretakers of the woods, are troubled: their archdruid has disappeared under deeply suspicious circumstances, and a cancerous growth of purple cysts is spreading, carrying corruption and sickness wherever they appear. It takes a special kind of hero to save the day. Or maybe more than one.
Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest is a labor of love from the co-creators of the critically acclaimed Legend of Grimrock series. Druidstone is a tactical, single-player, turn-based roleplaying game, which combines the best qualities of modern RPGs with the elegance of tactical boardgames. Every action, every turn counts as you control your party of heroes through handcrafted, challenging missions with varying, and often surprising, objectives.
Set in a unique fantasy world, Druidstone is filled with ancient lush forests, standing stones, snow-topped mountains, deadly creatures and puzzle-ridden ruins. And somewhere in the middle of all of this, caught in the flow of events, are Aava, the archdruid's daughter, who must now shoulder his responsibilities, Leonhard, a warden with a mysterious past and a lethal destiny, and Oiko, the failed Red Priest who is living proof that one may be very smart without being particularly wise. Along the way, they meet companions and villains, whose unique personalities and abilities make every encounter memorable.
Key Features
- A tactical turn-based and tile-based battle system where every action and every turn counts.
- Upgrade the abilities of your heroes – your upgrade choices have a dramatic impact on the characters' capabilities!
- Obtain upgrade gems by completing missions and discovering hidden treasures.
- 35 challenging, hand-crafted missions with playtimes ranging from 15 minutes to 45 minutes.
- Solve devious non-combat puzzle levels to gain extra upgrade resources.
- Find lost shipments to gain access to the best gear in Steelface's Emporium of Curios.
- A gripping, fantastic story of love, death and responsibility centered around the main characters of Aava, Leonhard and Oiko.
- A unique fantasy setting that combines the best elements from western RPGs, JRPGs and tactical boardgames in unexpected ways.
- Play custom missions created by others, or make your own campaigns with the Druidstone Level Editor (available as a post-release update).
- Total playtime ranging from 15 to 20 hours.
These guys are clearly professionals who know how to make a polished game, but have their design instincts successfully transferred to this new genre? Early reports tell of a simple yet remarkably difficult game with challenging optional objectives and punishing countdowns. There's only one review that I can find right now, but we hope to have one of our own in the not-too-distant future. If you'd like to offer your own opinion, you can grab Druidstone now at Steam or GOG for $25 with a 5% launch discount until next week.
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