At the L.A. Times Festival of Books we learned about Mythwalker at their big, impressive booth. Maybe it was the smiling corgi in armor that attracted our attention… Mythwalker is a geolocation fantasy RPG created by Nant Games for your cell phone. In it you can play one of three species: Human, Annu (a bird-like humanoid species), and Wulven (a canine species — from which the aforementioned corgi hails). Here is the lore: “Mytherra is a fantastical, parallel planet to Earth ─ a world where throughout history its people and mystical creatures have infiltrated the dreams of humans. Over time, these visions have formed the basis of Earth’s many myths and legends. After a prolonged period of peace, Mytherra is now under attack, which poses a direct threat to Earth as well. A powerful being, known only as The Child, has reached out through the Veil into our world seeking help. She recruits you – the Mythwalker – to uncover the truth about the attackers, explore the connection between the two worlds, and lead Mytherra’s heroes in the defense of their home.” And here is the idea: “MythWalker is a geolocation fantasy RPG adventure mobile game that brings The Child and Mytherra to life through an overworld traversal system, using real locations to tell the stories of Earth’s myths and legends. With narrative-driven quests tied to an intriguing storyline, a cast of magical and memorable characters, a deep progression system, and robust multiplayer modes, MythWalker will connect players worldwide through meaningful global gameplay.” Their web site has a whole lot more information.
Games
New Adventures in Redwall
Thanks to Animation Magazine we learned about some new games coming to Steam, based on Brian Jacques’ world-famous Redawall series of anthropomorphic fantasy books. “The Scout Anthology, available now for PC, PS5 and X|S on Steam, is a narrative puzzle-driven action-adventure in three acts following young mouse recruits in Mossflower on a mission to save their home from pirates. For the cute and cozy casual gaming crowd, Feasts & Friends (for the PC, coming soon) savors the peaceful town of Lilygrove as players forage for ingredients, craft recipes, and meet charming characters.” Both of them were created by Forthright Entertainment and Soma Games.
Magic — The Anthro-Folk
Recently there was a major announcement from the world Magic: The Gathering, the famous fantasy card game. “Welcome to Valley, the bucolic and vibrant home to the animalfolk of Bloomburrow, Magic‘s first all-animal plane. It’s a place where big adventures await even the smallest who are bold, inquisitive, and heroic, while those with more homespun and peaceable yearnings can enjoy the tranquil life… But peace is endangered in Valley as the delicate balance of nature is threatened, and the elemental calamity beasts and the Great-Night Owl imperil the lives of its inhabitants… The animalfolk will have to band together to defend their homes. Led by Mabel, a mousefolk mother and reluctant hero, a party will strike out to investigate what has befallen a neighboring town. Along the way, they’ll be joined by a remarkable companion from a faraway land.” Keep up with the Wizards of the Coast to find out more. As usual with Magic: The Gathering, the artwork for Bloomburrow is absolutely gorgeous.
Hurray!
The takeover of Planet Earth by one little Australian blue heeler dog continues unabated. We just got this announcement: “The first ever Bluey video game is releasing on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on November 17. Outright Games, in partnership with BBC Studios, is opening up the world of the beloved animated preschool series and inviting you to join Bluey and her buddies in an all-new interactive sandbox adventure, aptly titled Bluey: The Videogame, that will give players free rein to explore Bluey’s house and several other iconic locations.” Based on the celebrated and Ursa Major Award-winning TV series, of course. Coming this fall!
Outer Space from the Ground, Up
Underground Oracle Publishing got in touch with us about Wyld Space, a new tabletop RPG they are producing. According to them, “Wyld Space is a high-adventure sci-fi setting where you take on the role of wylds fighting back against a corrupt government and the megacorps controlling them in the distant reaches of space.” We’ll let Jess Pendley of UOP explain where they’re at now: “The way our publishing model works, is we release a developing early-access pdf that we update each month with additional materials for our supporters over a six-month cycle, then we crowdfund production of the shelf-ready version of the book to sell on storefronts. During the production cycle, we provide our patrons with exclusive playtest and feedback surveys, so they have a real impact on the setting before it hits the shelves. Each of our early access pdfs contains all of the rules that you need to play (using the Cypher System), so they don’t require owning any additional books.” Got that? Currently they have not one but two special Patreon drives for Wyld Space in progress.
Protect the People
Atlas Games has created a new all-ages role-playing game called Magical Kitties Save The Day. Which is precisely what it’s about! “You are Cute. You are Cunning. You are Fierce. You are Magical Kitties, and it’s time to Save the Day! Every Magical Kitty has a human. Every human has a Problem. In Magical Kitties Save the Day, you need to use your magical powers to solve problems and save the day! But kitties live in Hometowns that are filled with Troubles like witches, aliens, and hyper-intelligent raccoons. Troubles make Problems worse, so the kitties need to go on adventures to take care of the Troubles before that can happen.” After a successful Kickstarter campaign (with several stretch goals already acheived!), the game is available on-line now.
Dinos in Love (and Music)
Recently we learned more about Goodbye Volcano High, a new 2D animated anthro-dinosaur game created by Ko Op studios (Winding Worlds). It goes like this: “Goodbye Volcano High is a story about love, friendship, personal growth, acceptance, and the power of community in the face of disaster. (And dinosaurs!) Fang has just figured out what they want to do with their life, and now they’ve got to find out how to deal with the end of the world, be there for their loved ones, and follow through on their musical dreams before it’s too late.” Cartoon Brew has more information and a link to the new game trailer. Goodbye Volcano High is scheduled for release this June.
The Cards… The Cards!
Recently we learned about Disney Lorcana, a new card-collecting game set to be released in the fall of 2023. According to The Gamer, “Disney Lorcana is a trading card game (TCG) by Disney and tabletop games publisher Ravensburger. Like other games, such as Magic: The Gathering and the Pokemon TCG, you’ll collect cards in booster packs and create decks with the aim of defeating your opponent. It is being developed and published by Ravensburger, who previously worked with Disney on the Villainous series of tabletop games. It’s also known for other board games like Dingbats, Escape, Labyrinth, and El Dorado, however this will be its first-ever trading card game.” While Disney’s Twitter feed says “In Disney Lorcana, you’ll wield magic inks and the power of Lorcana to assemble your team of Disney characters. Some characters will be familiar friends. Others will be fantastically re-imagined.” More info to come, needless to say.
Be a Cat in Cat-Town
Over on Twitter we stumbled across a new interactive game project called Paw Borough. The creators were talking up the success of their recent Kickstarter campaign. We’ll let them explain it: “Hello everyone! We want to introduce Paw Borough, an online feline-themed roleplay game made by creatives for creatives! Paw Borough incorporates nostalgic elements of early internet pet simulators while introducing fresh mechanics and cultivating a unique player experience. The game will feature new, complex breeding mechanics, item collection, scene decoration, extensive roleplay tools with socialized gameplay, site-guided community storytelling, and immense creative freedom never before seen in a game of this genre!” You can check out their game demo online as well.