Thornbound

Deep in the forgotten countryside, stands a place lost to time: Kravia Manor. A towering structure of stone and silence, draped in moonlight and mystery. Few remember why it was built. Fewer still remember who built it. But all who’ve entered it remember what they were looking for. They came for Virellis, a flower unlike any other. Said to cure any illness. Heal any  wound. Even grant immortality. But the truth is more dangerous than the legend.

Our story begins with Zerim. He was once a mage of great renown. A scholar of magic. A protector of kingdoms. But those days are long gone. Decades ago, he hung up his cloak and chose peace over power, to raise a family of his own. To live a quiet life. Until Elira, his granddaughter, fell ill.

No potion helped. No spell held. And as the light faded from her eyes, Zerim found himself facing a truth more terrifying than any spell he had ever cast: there was nothing left. Nothing, except for a forgotten journal. A whisper from his past. A name: Virelli.

Our beautiful thumbnail is by Antonia Mertes, VFX artist.

Current state of the game

We have now reached the alpha stage, which means that the game is playable from start to finish. All the main parts are in place: you can explore Kravia Manor, solve puzzles, meet enemies and follow Zerim on his journey. Everything works for the most part, but a lot is still in development.

How to play the game

Common RPG controls
Q to change weapon
E to pick up
F to heal
Shift to run
Space to use melee attack
Right click to aim and to check ammo
Left click to shoot

THE TEAM

Artists
Barry Chen – Art Director, Animator
Eric Ivar Persson – VFX Artist
Evangelia Bakasi  – Prop Artist
Ilya Antoshkin – Environment Artist 
Shengan Peng – Animator

Designers
Alejandro Hernandez Cortina – Narrative & Level Designer
Ghazaleh Shahabirad – Generalist
Leon Cederberg – Combat & PO
Simon Finér – Level & Sound Designer

Programmers
Brian-Lucas Morar
Doruk Şaşmaz
Galina Syrodoeva - Lead Programmer
Jamie Kofler

History about the game 

Thornbound started as an idea to create a dark, atmospheric adventure game where you explore a mysterious castle full of puzzles, secrets and something really big at stake. We wanted to create a story that felt personal, but at the same time scary and exciting. Sort of gothic fantasy, with long corridors, mysterious creatures and an old adventurer trying to save a loved one from death.

Playtester

Right now we are testing the game internally, fixing bugs, checking that the puzzles feel right and that the pace of the story is consistent. We also get feedback from testers to help us understand what works and what needs to be tweaked. The next step is beta, where we will focus on polishing the surface, getting animations, music and voices ready, and starting to prepare for larger tests.

Slowly we are starting to see how everything is falling into place.