A Shadow's Echo

Content Warning: Contains use of alcohol, mild language.

Demo Length: Around 1 hour to an hour and a half.

Story

The Kingdom of Valentinshire has gone through two immensely destructive wars with the Shadow Daemons, leaving innumerable dead over a span of a century. With the Daemon's defeat in the Second Great War, Valentinshire has recovered to a point of unparalleled prosperity.

Never ones to forget, the Daemons have already planned their return, amassing their foul legions to start the war against mankind anew.

Rudovo, far away in the frozen World's Crown, has escaped these machinations targeting the Kingdom. It's safe, but for how much longer? Maybe not as long as one thinks, as evil festers in the lonely places of the world...

Main Characters

Emil: A young adult living in Rudovo, he’s more interested in books and stories than real life. When not working in the local copper mine, he reads, writes letters to his pen pal, or listens to the war stories of his nearby neighbor. Lacking self confidence, he relies on self-reflection and inner debates to make important decisions, even if the conclusion is wrong.

Anton: Another young adult and fellow miner living in Rudovo, Anton is Emil's best friend. He’s generally jovial, likes to crack jokes, and drink. Unlike Emil, he prefers to wing it and experience life to the fullest. However, if someone insults him or his friends, he loses his temper easily, and won’t hesitate to tell others when he doesn’t like something.

Gareth: A Mage Knight who serves the Kingdom of Valentinshire, Gareth is considered a good but emotionally distant leader. He spends his free time studying historical texts, walking around in nearby forests, or teaching Mage Order recruits at Waterford Castle. While he appears stoic, he bottles up his true feelings until they can’t be contained any longer.

World Features

• Focus on immersion. Enter a world of nature, tradition, and spirituality, scarred by the ravages of war.
• Varied and atmospheric soundtrack. Featuring acoustic folk, cinematic pieces, dungeon synth, and metal.
• Valuable currency. You can't afford everything right off the bat, so you’ll have to save for what you really want and make hard choices.
• Fullscreen functionality. Press F5 in-game to toggle.

Character Features

• Believable Characters. No cardboard cutouts here, each party member has their own motivations, idiosyncrasies, and viewpoints. There are no chosen ones or heroes, just those in certain places at certain times.
• Build Customization. Every time you level up, you gain a Learning Point, which can be spent on a large number of different skills. (Not included in demo)
• Corruption System. With each stolen item and grasp at easy power, you stray further and further down the path of evil. Will you turn back before it’s too late, or embrace the darkness within? As the plot progresses, you can learn new skills based on your Corruption level, and play through different story branches.

Combat Features

• Consequence of Action. Every spell cast or swing of a weapon makes you tired, adding levels of Exhaustion you will have to manage with food and rest. Exhaustion decreases your evasion, and mildly decreases defense.
• Skill Synergy. All weapons have a skill which either inflicts a negative effect, or takes advantage of one to deal more damage. For instance, swords have the skill "Downward Stab", which does high damage to enemies that are "Knocked Down".
• Easily Identifiable Icons. All negative state icons have been carefully chosen to help the player with decision making where every turn counts.
• Encounter Zones and Optional Random Encounters. Instead of random encounters, the world map has specific events, called Encounter Zones, where you can activate encounters at will. On smaller maps, you are given the option to turn random encounters off if you want to explore, or keep them on for an increased challenge. You also have the option of activating encounters at will on the same maps, much like the Encounter Zones on the world map. (Not included in demo)