My article on World of Anterra dates back to 2022, when indie developer 81monkeys’ charming project was gearing up for what would later become a successful Kickstarter campaign.
Then, as often happens, between the lack of updates and the sheer number of projects I follow, it gradually slipped off my radar and was almost forgotten, until today. The developer just dropped a brand-new trailer, and now the hype is through the roof.
The update follows a fresh trailer and updated Steam page; this provides players with a better idea of what the project looks like after the initial Kickstarter campaign.
In World of Anterra, a fantasy world was created by hand to allow for exploration, dialogue, battle, and interaction with items. Players travel throughout Anterra as travelers with ties to a prophecy. The main story revolves around the eye of Anterra, the mysterious nature of the land, and the question of whether you’ve come to save the world or just survive.
Stories and quests are branching; players can follow leads, talk to NPCs, search buildings, read books, enter caves and dungeons, and discover the world’s hidden lore through environmental clues.
The game world contains towns, wild animals, faction danger, monsters, crypts, taverns, camps, and breakable objects that contain items or secrets. Daily routines were implemented for NPCs (from eating to working and playing) and may create a more vibrant sense of life than a static quest hub.
Also notable is the conversation system that allows players to interact with NPCs using typed input when asking them questions.
This RPG doesn’t use a traditional turn-based system; instead, it combines grid-based tactical movement with quick-time actions, special abilities, magic, crafted items, positioning, etc. Easy battles should happen relatively quickly, while harder ones require reading enemy behavior, exploiting weaknesses, and utilizing consumables and the environment.
As far as visuals, 81monkeys added modern effects to the retro RPG style. They used hand-animated assets for characters, customization options for character models and clothing/accessories, animation layering for gear changes, real-time lighting for environments (including water shaders), dynamic weather, and day/night cycles.
The Steam page currently indicates a release window of 2026. Single-player mode will be available along with online cooperative play. Development started in 2018. Since then, the dev has overcome financial issues, pandemic setbacks, production challenges, and others.
The new trailer and updated Steam page appear to indicate that 81monkeys are back in public phase again. As well as reaching over 100K wishlists. Below the new trailer.
