Indie gaming has been in a golden age recently, with small development teams finding homes across all of the current gen platforms and through successful crowdfunding campaigns. The latest game to carve a home in this new niche is Ghost of a Tale, an action RPG that while considered a Souls-like features its own mousey twist. Coming from developer SeithCG, it is mostly a one-person labor of love from Dreamworks animator Lionel Gallat. It is now available for early access on PC and we’ve put together a preview of what prospective backers can expect.

Ghost of a Tale Features

• Travel to a medieval world populated only by animals, with an emphasis on immersion and exploration.

• Focus on stealth elements, disguises, conversations with allies and enemies, and quests.

• Tilo is not much of a fighter, so stealth and nimbleness are your allies when confronted with enemies twice your size.

• Talk to the characters you meet and leave no stone unturned in your quest to find Merra, your true love….

Ghost of a Tale Gameplay

Ghost of a Tale is an action-RPG game in which you play as Tilo, a mouse and minstrel on a dangerous quest to reunite with Merra, your true love. The game takes place in a medieval world populated only by animals, and exploring the game is the focus. Stealth is a prominent feature, as Tilo will don various disguises, engage in deep conversations and make use of various tools to navigate his way across the world.

The game is set in a medieval world populated only by anthropomorphic animals, which inhabit their own respective kingdoms of creatures, from mice to crabs to spiders but not a single human. Fans of the Mouse Guard comics will feel right at home here as well as cynics who have tired of humanity’s omnipresence in fantasy. The game takes place during a time after a cataclysmic event that raised an undead army. In act of desperation, the kingdom of mice sent an envoy to reveal the weaknesses of others, in an attempt to win favor. The plan backfired, the rats overcame the evil scourge and mice were exiled. Beginning the game in a rat dungeon, (why is it always rats at the start?) Tilo must escape using his wits and sneakiness.

Gameplay is in 3rd person perspective and at first look is similar to the Souls series of games. In a word, the game is beautiful, with impeccably detailed vistas and dungeons to explore. This attention to visual detail is not only aesthetic, as the game is packed with visual clues for helping Tilo on his quest. The mantra “leave no stone unturned” is in full play here as Tilo must scour every nook and cranny to proceed.

In contrast to the Souls series however, combat takes a backseat to stealth in this game, as Tilo will travel through the world, finding and using various disguises to blend in and advance. Players will have several options with proceeding through dungeons, such as hiding in boxes, dropping items like barrels on unsuspecting enemies and usingnquickness to escape certain death. In an era of gaming so focused on deletion, it is refreshing to be presented with a challenge of problem solving. The controls and traversal are designed to emulate what it feels to be a mouse, as you stand, sit, and crawl your way through the game.

Talking, investigating and using your critical thinking are at the forefront in the game and the core mechanics will augment your effectiveness as you play. The game’s RPG mechanics are vital here, as pieces of gear you equip have a bearing on your success with given tasks. The attire must match the occasion, and stacking pieces of gear will result in various bonuses. Players looking for more insight to the lore can exhaust their conversation options with every creature they meet, adding an extra layer of depth.

The game is presently in early access, which allows players to explore roughly a quarter of the game as it continues development towards completion. The target is for it to release this year on PC and Xbox One. Players interested in being members of the active development process can support now and play as they watch it evolve.

Ghost of a Tale is shaping up to be a light hearted twist on the dungeon crawler RPG without sacrificing complexity of gameplay or scope of story. Now that it is in early access, we can look forward to it’s refinement as it enters sleeper hit territory. This is one passion project we’ll be keeping a close eye on.

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