One of last year’s most enthralling indie games, Heaven’s Vault showcased the talent of developer Inkle to great effect, with its narrative and linguistic leanings setting it apart from its peers. Their latest project, Pendragon, which is set to arrive on PC this summer, looks to further embrace their storytelling strengths while marrying it to a tactical strategy framework that calls to mind The Banner Saga.
Pendragon is styled as an epic, narrative-driven retelling of the Arthurian legend, but one which writes the story as you progress. Every action you take will push the narrative in a new direction, while each dialogue choice or twist in the tale may bring new gameplay opportunities alongside them. It’s a remarkable idea, and while it’s a bold undertaking, Inkle are ideally placed to see it through to the end.
Set in 673 AD, Camelot has fallen, with Sir Mordred having split the Round Table’s fraternity with deceit and intrigue. It’s now up to Arthur Pendragon to face him down in a final battle. It seems as though it will be your task to return each of the Knights of the Round Table to their king, with your ultimate success depending on having rallied enough of them to your cause, or secured their survival.
Pendragon is pegged as being “infinitely repayable” thanks to its unique branching narrative, and there will presumably be a huge number of possible outcomes depending on your action – or inaction. You’ll take part in turn based battles against wild creatures, wicked rogues and Mordred’s knights on randomised battle grounds, further emphasising the fact that every play-through will be different.
The art style looks fantastic – somewhere between The Banner Saga and an animated stained glass window – and with Inkle at the helm this is one strategy adventure you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on later in 2020.