1428: Shadows Over Silesia is a unique mix of several genres: the fighting sequences resemble RPGs, the riddles and dialogues resemble adventure games from the 90’s, but there are also true historical events in the background, difficult battles, stealth passages and challenging puzzles.

You won’t come across a game like this at every corner.

Europe is in the middle of religious upheaval and many preachers predict that the end of the world is near. The year is 1428 and the Hussites have just set out on their Silesian campaign. These heretics appear to be the biggest threat in the kingless country. But true evil of a completely different kind is lurking nearby and it will not engage in religious disputes.

The entire game was strongly inspired by Andrzej Sapkowski's Hussite trilogy and the events in the game even partially take place in the same time period and place - during the spring campaign of 1428. Just like the famous author, I'm trying to tell real history and combine it with a fictitious story with fantasy elements.

Silesia is suffused with magic. Specifically, you will encounter wizards under false identities, possessed devil worshipers, sexual demons, and beasts from hell, as well as creatures well-known from European mythology. The game is linear and you will go through the whole story chapter by chapter, both on foot and on the back of a horse. You will visit a variety of real as well as fictitious places. Among others: Röwersdorf, Nysa, the Brzeg monastery, or the Rabesberg castle. You will plunder villages, doggedly defend streets of towns, or explore places such as secret dungeons, abandoned mines, and forbidden parts of monasteries.

The story is a serious one and it's intended exclusively for mature audiences. However, humor and cynical lines are sprinkled in here and there, and attentive players will pick up on a good number of pop culture references to famous movies, TV shows, or books.

Graphics and game mechanics

The game graphics are inspired by classic RPG games (although there are no RPG elements here). The graphics are isometric, stylized, and a bit fairytale-like. The action often takes place underground, in the rain, or at night, which amplifies the whole atmosphere and focus, which is placed mostly on light and shadow.

Gameplay is built on three main pillars - exploring, riddles, and combat/stealth. You will have to take advantage of your environment, search for objects, obtain information, and solve riddles or enciphered messages. Some challenges can be solved in multiple ways or can be cleverly worked around. I will give two quick examples:

1. In a dungeon, you will either solve a riddle on the wall - the solution will refer you to moving statues which open a door with no lock. Or, in an opportune moment, you can surprise and defeat skeletons patrolling nearby and get past the door through a hole in a collapsed wall. If you discover both of these options, the choice of how to proceed is yours.
2. In another place, you will be passing through a narrow corridor where you discover a trap. You will realize that it must be deactivated in order for you to get past it, but several enemies will cluster around you right then and there. You will go back and activate the trap at the exact moment your enemies are walking through it. They all die in spasms.

The combat system is easy to understand. It only uses two buttons, after all - one for attacking and the other for defense. Still, it will take practice to fully master it. Being outnumbered is a problem! If three or more opponents jump at you at one time, you will die! The key is to take advantage of their mistakes, wait for the right moment, and then attack. You will face not just knights, villagers, or highwaymen, but also various supernatural beings - and you shouldn't underestimate them.

In certain parts, direct confrontation is not the way to go. You will sometimes become invisible and creep through shadows past your enemies in order to avoid being seen. Monitoring their patrol routes and habits might help you find the ideal path. Or you can try to eliminate them quietly,  one by one.

At the end of October, a playable demo will be available exclusively at the Gamerpie festival in Brno, Czech Republic. The game will be a part of the so-called "Gamer's Path" in which Bohemia Interactive will participate with its game Vigor, Spitihněv with the retro action Hrot, as well as Silicomrades with Outside the Fox, among others.

Key Features:

• An interesting story, with true historical events in the background. The teaser trailer successfully masks the fact that demons, rituals, sex, dark magic, and blood all feature in the game. Simply everything that belongs to modern fantasy, right?
• Linear gameplay based on chapters and levels. Players can try as hard as they wish but as Murphy already discovered, if something can go wrong, it will.
• Challenging riddles and puzzles in the style of classic adventure games. Nothing for the weak of heart.
• Exploration of underground dungeons, caves, monasteries, or castles. And it’s not going to be a pretty sight. One shouldn‘t romanticize medieval times too much.
• Isometric, stylized, slightly fairytale-like, but mostly dark low poly graphics. In other words – artistic intentions can work quite well as a cover for a low budget.
• Stealth passages. But beware! You can’t just hide in the hay and think – if I can’t see them, they can’t see me. This is not Assassins Creed.
• A combat system where being outnumbered is a problem. Those demons and skeletons might be already dead, but that doesn’t mean that they won‘t happily invite one more soul to join their ranks. Those who don’t like challenges and have no patience should wait for Diablo IV.

1428: Shadows Over Silesia is in development for PC (Steam), with other platforms being considered.