Custom adventuring parties, tactical battles, and perilous detours are all on the cards in this hand-crafted old-school RPG.
Here it is in all its pixelated splendor. Lair of the Leviathan is a project I’ve been tracking since the very earliest days, and I always had a real affection for it. Today I found out that Deck13 has signed to publish Lair of the Leviathan, the open-world, turn-based RPG from Nostalgic Realms and Whiskeybarrel Studios, which of course only serves to increase the potential of the concept.
There’s a new announcement teaser out for this RPG (inspired by Ultima, Pool of Radiance and the early Baldur’s Gate games) and I’ll give you the details now.
The pitch is simple enough: gather a party, go exploring, and try to get to where you’re going without having to go in and investigate every single suspicious dungeon door you come across. Good luck with that final bit.
For those of you already following the project, the publishing deal is a real change in the way things are being done. The devs say that Deck13’s support means they can now work on the game full time and that it will also significantly reduce their admin load.
They also point out that an earlier engine change had the effect of the previous trailer becoming increasingly out of touch with what the actual game is. The new footage and the updated Steam page are both intended to bring the game’s public face up to date.
The adventure is in Ormande, the Imperial Capital, where the promise is that those who defeat the Leviathan will be rich and famous. Out on the western frontier, of course, you’ve got a whole host of other problems in the form of rival warlords, bandits, and monsters. The main quest is there for you to take, but you can of course choose to go off and do side quests and explore the various hidden dungeons. You can quite literally save the world and go back to it later once you’ve had a good look under that old mill.
You create the whole adventuring party with no pre-written companions in the party. Combat is all about positioning, ability selection, and enemies having different strengths and weaknesses. The devs also point out that some dungeons may be beyond the capabilities of your party. I like that note in print actually (in theory) i.e. that discovering someplace interesting doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ready to survive it.
Equipment changes are reflected in the characters’ pixel art via a paper doll system. The townsfolk beyond the party will follow the day/night cycle, the weather and the day schedule. The narrative will be based around short conversations and discoverable scrolls, which should give you more time to be adventuring between the various bits of local history.
The dev team is two strong individuals: David from Nostalgic Realms (who started the project after teaching himself pixel art) and Oliver Joyce from Whiskeybarrel Studios (who’s best known for the Swords and Sandals series).
For David this is his first commercial game, Joyce brings a wealth of experience from his many years in the business. The teaser also features cover art by Matt Stawicki (who’s also a contributor to the fantasy imagery that’s so central to the project’s aesthetic).
Lair of the Leviathan is aiming for a 2027 release on PC via Steam and GOG, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, though an exact release date has yet to be announced.
