Ron Gilbert dops news of Zelda-like Death By Scrolling

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Announcements by Jack Allin
Published:

RPG-styled, open-world pixel art action-adventure to arrive sometime later this year

People can argue all they want about whether or not a Legend of Zelda-style game is actually an "adventure game" (spoiler: not really, but adjacent). One thing's for sure, though, is that a Legend of Zelda-style game by none other than Adventure Game Hall of Fame legend Ron Gilbert himself is sure to be of interest to action, RPG and adventure fans alike.

Oh his Grumpy Gamer blog, Ron has revealed the first screenshot and background info about his next project, a top-down project called Death By Scrolling. Nothing is known about the plot so far, but it will be an open-world pixel art experience with a bright and colourful overworld to explore and items to collect – including weapons, so players can expect some combat mixed in. No word yet on puzzle-filled temples or dungeons, but that would be entirely in keeping with the Zelda template and this IS Ron Gilbert we're talking about. We do know it will feature a "nice quest and exploration system" with "story, quests and challenges."

The seeds for Death by Scrolling actually date back to 2019, before Ron got distracted by a little game called Return to Monkey Island. With help from two collaborators, Elissa and Craig, Ron returned to the idea afterward and together they have stripped out any "stupid stuff" from the original prototype and tightened up the fun core gameplay elements.

According to Ron, Elissa and Craig will be done working on the project after this month, then it's "just [him] for a few months" to further refine it for release sometime in 2025. "This time for sure."