Worldwalker Games, after five years of development, announced Wildermyth beta available on Itch.io! With a team of three people: a programmer, an artist, and a writer and a pretty simple idea. They simply wanted a game with tight tactical combat in a fantasy setting, with some character development for the heroes thrown in. That core idea ultimately grew into a monstrous amount of work. Eventually requiring the addition of more team members, although not entirely done, it’s enough to start sharing their labor with you!
About Wildermyth Beta
You’ll live a hundred lives in the Yondering Lands. You’ll untangle human stories and fight mustering forces who threaten peaceful folks. You’ll gather threads of beauty, magic, and strife to weave your own ever-growing legend, called Wildermyth.
An Imaginative Papercraft World
The Yondering Lands weaves hand-painted 2D characters and scenery into a 3D world to create a luscious, layered landscape, full of detail and surprises. No orcs, elves, or goblins here—but watch out for the telepathic insect-dragons and the clockwork undead.
Character Depth
Each of your heroes has their own unique generated history, personality, appearance, and relationships with the other heroes—all of which can change over the course of the game as they encounter mysteries and overcome challenges.
Choices That Matter
A hero may choose to trust the enigmatic wolf god, leading to a particularly hair-raising change in their appearance and combat abilities. Or they may choose whether to pursue a romance with a fellow hero, giving each of them new advantages from fighting side by side. Encounters and events have permanent, character-defining effects, letting you craft the arc of each character.
A New Approach to Death
Got one-shotted by that tentacled horror-bear? Choose to let a hero “fall back” with a maiming that can open up opportunities for transformation later, or let them go down in a blaze of glory to be remembered for generations to come.
Fresh Tactical Combat
Combat in Wildermyth emphasizes teamwork and careful positioning. Walling and flanking provide conflicting incentives, and interfusion lets you remake the battlefield with explosive magic. Multiple difficulty levels mean you can get as intense as you want to.
Endless Replayability
Procedural generation gives you new heroes, new enemies, new story events, and new maps every time you play. Pick and choose from a huge bank of combat abilities as your heroes level up in each playthrough, and decide whether you prefer offensive or defensive tactics, brute strength, stealth, or magically flinging fire from a nearby lamp into your enemies’ faces.
Build a Legacy
As time passes, heroes grow old and may retire, or may fall in combat. Adding them to a roster of legends allows you to call on them in later playthroughs, creating a metagame as you build their mythology and increase the renown of your pantheon.
More Information
Having first seen Wildermyth at Pax South 2018, I followed the development ever since. Unique game design and an undeniable passion by the developers makes it a game worth a look. Wildermyth Beta available now on Itch.io for download, but a Steam key will be provided once the developer makes the Steam version accessible. Alternatively you can follow on Steam to watch for the game’s availability there.
