Does the Hundred Years War (or should that be the 116 Years War?) make you think “Hmm, that would have been a good time to make bank from metalworking”? If so, Anvil Saga has you covered—coming to Steam later this year, it sees you trying to turn a ramshackle blacksmith into a profitable enterprise, in the midst of the war between the English and French.
Anvil Saga sees you dealing with bandits, soldiers, priests, and lords, with your relationships with different factions affecting the state of the world and your smithy’s place within it. There’s also a growing store to manage, staff members with their own quirks, and a reputation as a master craftsman to (hopefully) build.
Anvil Saga is the creation of Pirozhok Studio (with publishing support from HeroCraft), a small indie developer led by 21-year-old Timur Shakirov. Despite his young age, Timur’s already been in the game industry for a while; he published his first game on Steam, Life is Hard, when he was 15.
Here’s an overview of key features, per Steam:
Build the smithy of your dreams
Construct new rooms and underground facilities in order to expand your smithy and take on the more challenging orders. From a simple workshop to living quarters, to a gym or a library – each room needs to be outfitted with the appropriate furniture and décor.
Make decisions and deal with the consequences
Customers, relationships and decisions – they all matter! Maintain your reputation with conflicting factions, each one offering protection and bonuses for your budding enterprise. The orders which you decide to fulfil and the way you deal with each faction influences the game world and leads to a variety of tragic, fun or bewildering outcomes.
Become a renowned craftsman
Manage orders and try to increase your prestige level to attract the rich and the famous. Look out for unique orders that pay a premium, such as a baron’s request to create the most beautiful ring for his daughter or the king’s envoy demanding you forge a one-of-a kind sword.
Forge a team of professionals
Take charge of employees with different skill sets, salary levels, needs and personalities. Keep them happy by building special facilities, installing amenities and decorating their rooms. Equip your workers with special tools for faster work and help improve their craft by adding new books to your library.
There’s no release date for Anvil Saga yet, but the plan is to launch it later this year on PC. It’s already listed on Steam, if you want to follow its progress, and if you like the look of it, adding it to your wishlist is a good (and very helpful) way to show your support to the people behind it.