Indie studioFar Far Gameshas announcedBylina, anARPGin which players venture into a Slavic folktale to restore their souls and save the world.
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Giving AAA games a run for their money.
Despite being thestudio’s debut, the game will bepublished by veteran indie publisher,Fulqrum Publishing.
In the game, you’llplay Falconet, a disgraced and powerless Bogatyr- Slavic hero -, himself the son of a famed hero.
Unsurprisingly, as an unprepared would-be hero,Falconet dies on his first mission. However,something, or someone, revives and sets him on a path to reclaim what he lost— his soul
You’ll explorecastles, rank dungeons, nightmarish hellscapes, and eerily beautiful towns to get your soul back, live up to your father’s legacy, and save the world.
Combat looksfast-paced and relentless, mixing melee, ranged, and magical attacks. As you progress, kill powerful enemies, and solve puzzles, you’ll berewarded with different equipment, spells, and abilities.
The game has no skill tree and instead ops for asystem of cards with passive increases. As players level up, they’ll have todecide what sort of strengths and weaknesses they can bear.
Not all swords are out and swinging, however. As players explore thegame’s open stages, they’llmeet unique characters who are dealing with the world’s doom,too.
Huge monsters aside, players willconfront people pushed to their brink, teetering between the good the bogatyr serves and the evil he fights against.
Whether or not you choose to help them is up to you, but afew side quests to help people might just be what getting your soul back is about— loot doesn’t hurt either, of course.
Bylinais slated for anunspecified 2025 release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
A Love Letter to The Slavs
DespiteSlavic mythologybeing equally rich as itsGreekandNorsecounterparts,it has hardly gotten its due in the video game world; thenumber of these gamesis hardly in the double digits.
Although many considerThe Witchera Slavic tale, the Polish author, Andrezj Sapkowski,hasrepeatedly denied these claims.
This gap in storytelling is whereBylinacomes in.
For the unfamiliar, “Bylina”refers to Rus epic poems that dictate the stories of great heroes, often a mix of myth and history— the closest popularcomparison would be Beowulf.
These epics sometimesrevolve around a father-child relationship, so that might be something to look out for.
The game didn’t reference its namesake, butmythical Bylina figures like Alesha Popovich and Ilya Muromets could still make cameos.
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Bylina’sworld looks to bea faithful and immersive recreation of Slavic country and myth. From the architecture of simple villages to carefully designed characters’ clothes,the game is a clear labor of love and pride of its roots.
Still,don’t be fooled by the color palette and timid villages. Like its inspiration, there isno shortage of horrors inBylina.
From the seeminglymeek Upiór hag to the gigantic troll-like Asilak, Falconet’s sword will often run red. While some of these monsters might be familiar,others are nothing short of unheard-of Lovecraftian monstrosities.
While still months away,Bylinamight be the new standard for introductions to underrepresented cultures in theindiespace; and admittedly, the AAA scene as well.
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