Former Assassin's Creed and Warhammer Online dev announces new fantasy game based on Welsh myth
It's written primarily in Welsh
Former Ubisoft and Eidos-Montréal developer Stevan Anastasoff has announced Tales from the Mabinogion, a third-person narrative game based on ancient Welsh folklore that's written primarily in the Welsh language. The game puts you in charge of a wandering monarch, who is embarked on a quest to save the realm from a horrible fog. Find a trailer below. Yes, there are English subtitles.
"As a vengeful sorcerer unleashes a cursed fog upon the ancient Welsh Kingdom of Dyfed, a warrior-king finds himself entangled with beasts from the mythical Otherworld of Annwn," explains the Steam page. "To save his realm, he embarks on a quest to uncover the origins of the curse - and unlock the secrets necessary to thwart its devastating grip."
Tales from the Mabinogion sees you following beast trails and wrangling with mystical animals in a landscape of faded organic pigments and thick brushstrokes inspired by Erin Hanson, Vincent Van Gogh, and Claude Monet (another parallel, if not an influence, is Aardman's World War fable 11-11: Memories Retold, whose art style is a commentary on the fallibility of memory). It's not clear whether any kind of fighting system is involved, but there's certainly confrontation and conflict.
The Mabinogion of the title is a collection of ancient Welsh stories dating back to the 12th century. As you travel through the game, you'll tease out a few of these fragmentary fables. "Welsh is a beautiful, ancient, musical, magical language - the language that inspired Tolkien's Sildarin, the language of the Elves," Anastasoff comments in a release. "There is no more fitting way to tell a fantasy story!"
Anastasoff's collaborators include famed Warhammer scribe Gav Thorpe, author of The Lion. The game's Welsh script is the work of translator Rhys Iorwerth, and is narrated by Phil Rowe, whose other credits include Age Of Empires and Raid: Shadow Legends. Welsh folk musician Oliver Wilson-Dickson is doing the score.
The game launches on PC via Steam in 2025.