Demo floated for Dreadbone

• Announcements by Sam Amiotte-Beaulieu
• Published:

Supernatural strategy-puzzle escort adventure coming soon to Steam on Windows PC

An ethereal ancient spirit and a shipwrecked explorer may not be the likeliest of allies, but in the mysterious world of Dreadbone, the upcoming strategy-puzzle adventure by Spanish developer Astral Maw, a bound entity must wield its unseen influence on the environment to help a castaway adventurer uncover an island’s unseen secrets.

You play as Tz’akabaak, a floating skeletal purple spirit “once torn apart and imprisoned to prevent it from unleashing chaos upon the world.” Wishing to “reclaim its power,” Tz’akabaak seeks to capitalize on a unique opportunity when a “bold explorer drawn to the island’s mysteries” named Henry Walker is marooned when his ship runs aground. Without Henry ever being aware of its presence, Tz’akabaak must guide the explorer to unravel the history of the strange ruins scattered across the landscape, and through this unlikely bond help both of them escape to freedom.

Presented in a colorful low-poly 3D art style, Dreadbone is a strategy-puzzle adventure set on an island of “collapsed temples, overgrown jungle, and ancient altars, each echoing the remnants of a lost civilization.” Unlike in most games, here you don’t control the human protagonist directly but rather a powerful spirit with the ability to interact with the world around him. Visible to the player but not to Henry, you must use your powers to direct and protect the mortal explorer along a path towards a mysterious relic at the end of each self-contained level. Henry is vulnerable to a terrain filled with traps, monsters, and lava pits – one wrong move will lead to a quick and sudden death – so you will need to manipulate the landscape in real time to lead Henry safely toward the next goal.

Echoing titles like the classic Lemmings, this game sees Henry often moving forward automatically, even if there is a massive lava pit awaiting him, though sometimes you’ll need to entice him through the lure of an ancient relic placed in his path. You can freely float around via keyboard or gamepad, even raising yourself to different heights. But you are also given an ever-expanding arsenal of powers to assist Henry survive “overgrown ruins, magical relics, and monstrous creatures,” from simple abilities like moving the direction of road signs to causing earthquakes to lift and lower designated parts of the terrain. Some obstacles are more active in barring Henry’s way, and various enemies will give chase or shoot fireballs at the bold explorer. These threats require new strategies from your ability pool, requiring Tz’akabaak to utilize roots, pollen and other plant life to constrict and obstruct predators.

There is not yet a release date for Dreadbone, but it’s “coming soon” to Steam and a demo of the first few levels is already available now for Windows PC.

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