The Count Lucanor

Once upon a time, a boy named Hans lived near the woods with his mother. It was his birthday, but they were so poor that he did not receive any gifts. Upset, Hans left home to find adventure, taking only his grandfather’s, a bit of cheese, and three pieces of gold. Come nightfall, Hans wanted nothing more than to be at home. While trying to find his way back, he crossed paths with a kobold (a spirit of German mythology), and was tempted into following it back to Tenebre castle, where he was told he could become rich. All he had to do was guess the name of the kobold. In The Count Lucanor, a fantasy-horror adventure being developed by Baroque Decay, gamers will join Hans in his journey through this castle, as he tries to uncover the truth on PC, Mac and Linux.

Inside Tenebre castle, players can expect visuals that the studio describes as “halfway between 8 and 16-bit style,” and gameplay inspired by games like The Legend of Zelda, Silent Hill and Dark Souls. Hans can place candles on the ground for light, talk to characters for clues, collect items to solve puzzles and even hide under tables or behind curtains in order to escape danger. All of the above will lead to one of a few possible endings, and will feature a chiptune soundtrack from composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

The Count Lucanor does not yet have a release date, but the studio is aiming for the first quarter of 2016. At launch, the game will be available on PC, Mac and Linux in English, French and Spanish, with more platforms and languages possible if the game is successful. The studio also hinted that it is almost ready to move onto the beta stage of testing, and will be on the lookout for beta testers.

More information on Baroque Decay’s horror adventure can be found on the website, the Steam page, or by following the studio on Twitter. Fingers crossed that readers have enough Hans for all of that.

Getting déjà vu right now? That may be because you read this on IGM, where my preview was first featured! Check IGM out for all the latest on indie games.