Lair of the Leviathan: the Old-School RPG Delivered by 2 Devs
“RPGs have lost their identity.”
No argument there.
Deck13 Spotlight recently announced Lair of the Leviathan, an old-school turn-based RPG for PC and consoles in 2027. The game is being made by just two solo developers, David of Nostalgic Realms and Oliver Joyce of Whiskybarrel Studios, who joined forces to build the game of their dreams because, in their words, no one else was willing to take on the mission.
Lair of the Leviathan is clearly an ode to the RPGs of yesteryear. Taking direct inspiration from games like Ultima, Pools of Radiance, and the early Baldur’s Gate games, Lair of the Leviathan features a pixel art world, turn-based party combat, and dungeons and towns packed with detail.
David taught himself pixel art as a stay-at-home dad and started developing Lair of the Leviathan as a hobby. As he watched it grow into a full commercial project, Joyce joined the “team” and brought in his more than a decade of game development experience as the founder of Whiskybarrel Studios and the creator of the Swords and Sandals gladiator series.
The game was revealed during Deck13’s announcement event for Drova II: Torn Lands, and the philosophy behind Lair of the Leviathan will sound familiar to Drova fans: explore at your own pace, get lost in side quests, and follow a game map instead of an ever-expanding task list of quest markers. All designed in a world that the player can experience in his or her head instead of one that has to come to a screeching halt every so often for a non-playable, needlessly over-rendered cinematic.
The first teaser for Lair of the Leviathan is below, with more details coming soon. You can wishlist Lair of the Leviathan on GOG and Steam PC now.
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