What is proposed to us by the Belgian study Fishing Cactus (which even if we can define it independent, has in its team members with experiences on AAA games), is a very particular title: a riot of paper, words and colors, a surreal and suggestive atmosphere that captivates the reader (oops, I wanted say player). Let's now go to better understand what kind of experience this little gem offers us, trying to read between the lines and understand its technical possibilities, immersing ourselves in the artistic choices of the team. Are you inspired enough? Here you go Epistory: Typing Chronicles.
Paper earth and origami
We will find ourselves in control of a girl riding a 3-tailed fox, in a fantastic world made of pages of books and origami. Who is she? She is the inspiring muse of a writer, who apparently is experiencing the uncomfortable phase of "writer's block". The adventure will begin only after a few lines of text, and without many preambles we will find ourselves wandering around this map, which will gradually be composed of a few blank pages. everything there is to tell will automatically be written on the map itself (it's a book after all, isn't it?). The words that will appear and tell the story have obviously been voiced by a narrator: clear, limpid, dreamy. Obviously they won't all be roses and pages ...
This fantasy world will be "infected" with some creatures, which are altering the balance of the paper earth. As we roam, we will have to defeat these creatures, and revive the parts of the world that are… let's say "torn". How will we do it? Typing words on our keyboard. Exact. The words will appear directly above the object with which we can interact, whether it is a creature, a stone to break, or a chest to open. The words we will type, however, will be exclusively in English, and unfortunately at the moment there is no localization for the title (even if already planned).
The call of the elements
During our adventure, our muse will learn to control elemental magic, to provide your shots with special effects. These are Fire, Ice, Wind, and Sparks. It will be essential to be able to master them all at best, and to alternate them during individual battles. This is because the powers we will have will be tactically fundamental, for example to block, remove or defeat some creatures before others. Creatures will vary in size, speed, way of moving, length of words to be defeated, and number of words to be defeated. Don't worry, it's easier to understand than to explain: here's a demonstration video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k7qmNzIDYI
The playing area will be an extensive map, which we can “discover” part by part by accumulating points, and by going to a certain place. The play area will also be littered with chests to open, and Insect "nests", which we will have to "Disinfest". The most difficult parts of the title take place inside the dungeons: in these we will find ourselves having to solve various puzzles and riddles, to disinfect nests, and of course to defeat the "Final Boss nest" of the dungeon. In some of them, our muse will find the spheres of energy that will give her elemental powers. Small external note, it must be done for the movement controls, which unfortunately remain extremely uncomfortable for the average player.
A solitary adventure, but not too much
In Epistory, much of the game will take place in the story mode, which will keep you busy for a fair amount of time (and it also depends a lot on your skills). As you can imagine, there is no multiplayer mode for this title that sees players fighting against each other, at least for the moment.
The only other mode available as an alternative to the story, and that it is advisable to play only once the latter is finished, is the "Arena" mode. In this we will find ourselves at challenge other players on the leaderboard (and we can actually define it as a partially multiplayer mode), fighting in an arena structured as a "Final Boss nest" where monsters will spawn indefinitely. Obviously there will be no time limits, and we will have all the magical elements available (even if for example you have not unlocked them in story mode). this mode isn't easy at all, and requires at least a good skill level to survive a decent number of waves. Do you accept the challenge?
The card that comes to life
The part that definitely fascinates Epistory players, it is the atmosphere created by a graphic and sound sector of pure art and fantasy. Suggestive and evocative landscapes reproduced with colored paper, and accompanied by a melancholy or adrenaline soundtrack when needed. The player-reader will find himself as if playing on a book that he will write himself, but which at the same time will become a perfect staff on which to engrave the notes of the original soundtrack. The colors, the locations, the simple but functional details, the music, cthey give Epistory the category of "poetry about video game". Does not exist? It should.
An unusual menu
Wanting to close with a gem added by the team, let's talk about the main menu of the game. Everything you will find yourself selecting, just write it down! This makes the use of the mouse superfluous. What do i mean? Everything you can do in the menu, whether it is open the map, return to the game, perform power ups when you level up, and all selectable items, will be activated almost exclusively by writing the keywords! (Main Menu, Resume, Map ... or in the case of skills, Knowledge, Teleport, Fire, and so on ...)
