Former Indiana Jones And The Great Circle art director announces Solbrand, a very different kind of archaeology game

This whitethorn not beryllium successful a museum

Paste a representation of Uppsala, Sweden to the bottommost of your bathtub, capable your bath with extra-bony gumbo, past strap connected a scuba disguise and rhythmically instrumentality your caput beneath the surface, and you'll person thing similar the acquisition of playing Solbrand - "a dilatory pain pseudo-historical puzzle-adventure that'll instrumentality you back, down, and much than a small retired there." For champion results, behaviour your bath tub experimentation connected a time truthful blistery that the prima is virtually shrieking. Don't person entree to a bath, gumbo, a representation of Uppsala, oregon a shrieking sun? Hey, nary shame. That's what videogame trailers are for.

It's been a portion since I've laid eyes connected an interface 'em up arsenic swish arsenic this. The gist is that you're the "Spook" successful complaint of a tiny marine probe vessel, sometime successful the distant future. You're navigating a sunken metropolis awash with "scientific breakthroughs and huffy eccentrics, restless oversea monsters and evil doctors, mythical poesy and long-forgotten gods".

You are present due to the fact that you request to debunk a rumour astir immoderate benignant of never-ending motorcycle race, connected behalf of "influential offshoots of the archetypal champion", whose "spandex pockets tally amazingly deep". I bask this Belleville Rendevous-esque daftness inasmuch arsenic I can't fig retired however it synchs with the much acquainted cosmic fearfulness devices above.

Based connected the Steam description, Solbrand plays a spot similar In Other Waters and, argh, this different underwater mech-based exploration sim with a top-down presumption that I can't retrieve - something-naut? Handles a spot similar Steel Battalion? Please fig this retired successful the comments. Anyway, similar that, but with sporadic first-person diving bits.

By default, you'll drift crossed a mildewed expanse of streets and buildings specified arsenic the Imperfektum - a real-world pupil lodging complex, seemingly - and the Blackened Cathedral. The representation nests wrong a benignant of Clancified geode of light-up dials and buttons. You tin initiate scan waves that ripple and cleanse the parchment, and set extent of tract to bring objects into focus. When you privation to analyse a location, you prosecute probe presumption to swoop successful and behold it arsenic a ghostly 3D expanse.

Perhaps you'll find a papers oregon artefact of immoderate kind, similar a semaphore codex oregon an advert for velocipedes (primordial bikes). If you find quality remains, you tin "tune into" them to sermon with restless spirits. "Get to cognize their fates, marque bonds, quibble astir metre, drawback them successful lies, and tease retired forgotten truths," the Steam leafage adds.

You've besides got a surface-level enactment unit of surviving quality characters, including a Tinker, Worder and Shimmer. I similar this game's language. Here is different excerpt from the lore: "Earth is sunk 'neath the boiling sea, and the prima has made galore a caput unusual." That would beryllium the prima that won't halt screaming.

Image credit: Dead People Dreaming

Solbrand doesn't person a merchandise day arsenic yet - nary large surprise, fixed that the task began successful April this year. Development workplace Dead People Dreaming are really based successful Uppsala, and dwell mostly/entirely of Mattias Astenvald, erstwhile creation manager for Indiana Jones And The Great Circle.

This is Astenvald's debut indie release, and a task adjacent to his heart. He himself was calved successful Skogstibble, a colony extracurricular Uppsala, and the crippled channels his enthusiasm for section history.

"There is an unending database of interesting, meaningful, funny, touching, oregon inspiring marks made by existent radical and events but that I judge precise fewer cognize about," Astenvald writes connected the authoritative site." It strikes maine however unusual it is that successful this integer property I tin cognize truthful overmuch astir the goings-on crossed the globe, yet astir thing of wherever I really unrecorded -- contempt determination being truthful overmuch that would evidently enrich a life!" The blog includes a chunk of locally-brewed runic verse. I fearfulness I indispensable interrogation this man. Amongst different things, I'm funny to larn astir imaginable connections with the gaudier archaeology of the Indiana Jones game.

Closing note: Solbrand reminds maine somewhat of Stasis: Bone Totem, though it doesn't look astir arsenic icky.