Stormind Games, the developers behind the Remothered series have announced their next project—and looks like quite the departure from their survival horror roots. Batora: Lost Haven, currently in development for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC, is a story-driven action RPG “based on the duality between mind and body” that sees players balancing their hero’s physical and mental states.
Batora: Lost Haven is a collaboration between Stormind Games, writer Anne Toole (Horizon Zero Dawn, The Witcher), composer Ron Fish (Arkham series), and concept artist Borislav Mitkov (Assassin’s Creed). It follows Avril, a regular 16-year-old girl who realises she’s the only one who can save a dying Earth from oblivion and sets out on an interplanetary adventure to do just that.
“We live our lives in a constant state of flux between our physical and mental well being, often with little thought for how they affect each other,” said Giacomo Masi, Narrative Designer on Batora: Lost Haven. “The journey which Avril takes in Batora really focuses on the need for a strategic dualism – mastering the balance between the physical and the mental – whilst presenting a multi-branching, narrative full of consequences, rich in plot twists and credible, like-able characters.”
That duality will manifest in Batora: Lost Haven through a new “switch” mechanic that lets players alternate between mental and physical states. Figuring out when to switch will be a key aspect of the game’s aRPG combat.
“Bridging the gap between the physical and mental calls for a particular visual representation and we’ve really tried to distinguish between the two with a hand-painted approach inspired by Sci-Fi art of the 1950s versus the photo-realistic approach of many of today’s AAA titles,” added art director Gaetano Caltabiano. “We’ve really drawn a lot of inspiration from the likes of Alphonse Mucha and the intense Sci-fi environments of Paul Lehr.”
“We’re all extremely excited to finally be able to announce this new adventure to the world,” stated Antonio Cannata, CEO and Co-Founder of Stormind Games. “This is Stormind Games’ first proprietary IP, and our first next-gen video game – we’re stepping up our game, and both as a man who works in this industry and as a passionate gamer, I can positively state that our team’s professional growth, together with the contribution of stars such as Anne Toole, Borislav Mitkov and Ron Fish, definitely makes Batora: Lost Haven our most ambitious project so far.”
There’s no release date for Batora: Lost Haven yet (Stormind’s website lists it as “available soon”), but it certainly looks like a game to keep an eye on.