Aeon of Sands – The Trail is a story-driven ‘Dungeon Crawler’: a retro low-fantasy RPG set in a post-apocalyptic world. Created by two-person developer TwoBitsKid, Aeon of Sands – The Trail features first person, grid-based exploration, puzzles, real-time combat, and a fully illustrated, non-linear, ‘choose your story’ adventure.
A love letter to classic PC and Amiga games from the 90s, the game follows the misadventures of a likeable slacker thrown out of the secluded city of Pantella – a society clustered on the colossal body and limbs of a sacred Kinami tree, all covered by a glass dome – into a hostile, infinite desert that personally hates him. As you progress towards one of the possible endings, Aeon of Sands – The Trail asks you to interpret the vain and nap-loving clerk Setrani’s personality and story to determine what’s actually going on, deciding your own path through a dangerous land ravaged by the weather and also by tribalistic xenophoby – all tinted by a wicked sense of humour and unpredictability.
Via multiple-choice illustrated dialogues, players are introduced to new situations and choices. Based on decisions made, new areas can be explored while others become inaccessible; they may then meet new companions or make enemies for life.
Features:
- non-linear CRPG with player dependent twists in plot, and a story of about 80,000 words
- re-playability: every choice matters and will lead to different stories and one of multiple endings
- Real-time action, first-person perspective
- Skill Gain System
- 20 visually different locations
- 60+ different mazes to explore
- 60+ monsters and unique bosses (a total 572 animation frames)
- a completely hand-drawn 2.5D environment
- 240+ handcrafted dialogue illustrations
- approximately 140 dialogues, which cannot be read in the course of a single play
- 200+ individual items with in-game descriptions
- dynamic 3D audio consisting of more than 270 individual sounds, for monsters, items, ambient and GUI
- up to 2 characters can join your party: each personality influences the outcome of the story, and opens up new paths
- Item-based magic system (magic is shaped and focused by way of many different objects, with a range of different effects)
The artwork and interface design of Aeon of Sands – The Trail is visually stunning, with a genuine retro charm in both style and animation. The humanoids (of various tribes), beasts (large and small) and strange hybrids each present a distinctive threat during your journey, using diverse combat skills to end your adventure. Rich in story and atmosphere, Aeon of Sands – The Trail offers dynamic dialogues and an environment ripe for exploration, where the right item or a specific character/situation may open up unexpected pathways.
Scheduled for release in late 2018, Aeon of Sands – The Trail will be available for Windows, MacOSX and Linux. You can learn more about the game and its fascinating desert world at the developer’s website.