Check Out This Trailer For Lost Spirits of Kael

I probably get a couple of dozen new emails a day from people wanting to show off their games. Sometimes they’re from well paid PR reps who are working for larger publishers and just want more noise around their product. Some of them are from mobile or Facebook developers who have a barely presentable idea and nothing to show off. Plenty are from people with something on Kickstarter.

Most of these grabs for attention aren’t interesting enough to show you. Either there’s not enough information or what there is looks so unfinished that it’s difficult to take seriously. But this morning, I got an email that confounded my expectations.

The email came from Pablo Coma who, it turns out, is the entirety of the workforce behind Lost Spirits of Kael. He told me his game was a kind of 2.5D RPG that put a heavy emphasis on creating a compelling atmosphere and stirring emotions within the player. He likened it to a curious mix of Shadow of the Colossus and Dark Souls.

You play as a painter who has lost his inspiration and goes into the forest to find it. There he meets a mysterious harpist and encounters the many dangers and mystical difficulties that make the Forest of Kael almost impossible to navigate out of.

Lost Spirits of Kael is still quite a way off, expected in 2014, but what there is to show off is strangely enticing. Pablo says it’s a game about loneliness and finding your way. I didn’t expect much when I hit play on the trailer but about halfway through, something settled on me and I really got the idea that the atmosphere is just right.

So there’s not too much to tell, and the game is a long way off, but the trailer is interesting, at least. Another interesting fact: Pablo is already selling some of the soundtrack on Bandcamp, hoping it helps him fund the continuing development of Lost Spirits of Kael.