Choice-based visual novel with animated sprites coming later this year to Windows, Mac and Linux
Last year Moral Anxiety Studio released Roadwarden, a modernized take on the classic text-driven adventure RPG, set in the hostile, mysterious world of Viaticum. This year the solo Polish developer will take us back to that medieval fantasy real with Windy Meadow – A Roadwarden Tale, an “official counterpart” that features the same choice-driven focus but with a much more visual component than its predecessor.
Windy Meadow is a sleepy, peaceful commune, lacking in wealth and fame but offering its residents something “something far more valuable – a haven of tranquillity and harmony amidst the hustle and bustle of the outside world.” Three such citizens are Vena, Fabel, and Ludicia, who now face “life-altering choices that will shape their destinies.” Vena, the huntress, must decide whether to “leave her family behind in pursuit of riches with a merchant guild.” If Fabel is to realize his dream of becoming a bard, he will need to discard the “figurative shackles of his difficult past.” And Ludicia, the herbalist outsider, grapples with taking control of her love life, facing the prospect of “choosing not to marry a man she doesn’t really love at the risk of leading a lonely future.” Players will decide how these three interwoven stories progress, and every choice, no matter how big or small, can impact “dialogue, events, how NPCs perceive the protagonists, and how their tale ends.”
As with the original Roadwarden, Windy Meadow will focus almost exclusively on choice-driven narrative, but there are some significant differences this time around. Gone are the monochromatic palette and isometric perspective in favour of colourful, full-screen pixel art graphics and animated sprites, displaying lovely, detailed views of the village and its surrounding “gentle rivers, fertile lands, and welcoming forests.” And rather than traveling the countryside solving mysteries, this game is a stay-at-home, slice-of-life visual novel that delves into “the problems, fears, and the challenges” its three “very different” protagonists face, which makes for “interesting and complicated relationships with the multitude of moody side characters” they interact with along the way.
The full version of Windy Meadow – A Roadwarden Tale should be completed for Windows, Mac and Linux before the end of the year. In the meantime, a playable demo is available now on itch.io and is due to arrive on Steam this later this month.
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