These brain-teasers look charmingly
tactile, featuring mechanical
contraptions covered in dials and
levers, and collapsed rocky bridges
that rebuild themselves stone by
stone. Even crafting a potion is its own
kind of puzzle, requiring you to follow
clues to find the right ingredients,
brew them in the correct order andneutralise any poisonous effects to
obtain the concoction you’re after.
The world, inspired by Central
European mythology, is delightfully
weird, featuring underwater dungeons,
massive frog kings and talking trees.
Thanks to the abduction of the Sun
King Napkiraly, the land has been
plunged into the kind of perpetual
darkness that skeletons, trolls and
rat-human hybrids just can’t get
enough of. Exactly the sort of problem
you need a team of heroic adventurers
to solve, eh?
Many of the characters and levels
are directly based on real historical
figures and locations. Some are a
little obscure – we can’t say we were
familiar with Romania’s Fortress
Of Deva before a quick detour to
Wikipedia – but we’re intrigued by the
developer’s promise that we’ll meet
Attila The Hun on our adventures.Operen-sesame
A clever balance between old and new
is struck by a robust, modular suite of
difficulty options. Those still dreaming
of the days of MS-DOS can turn on
Cartographer mode, banishing the
in-game map and forcing you to
draw out your own as you go on
graph paper. Less nostalgic players,
however, can leave automapping
on, and turn on the minimap and
autosaves for a modern experience.
And there’s even optional permadeath
for all you masochists out there.
Not only is Operencia an Xbox One
exclusive, but it’s also coming to
Game Pass the same day it launches.
Though, unfortunately, Zen Studios
is yet to reveal when that day is – all
we know for now is that it’s coming
later this year. QDeveloper Zen Studios is best known
for its massive library of pinball
games, but there’s not a single flipper
to be found here. Operencia: The
Stolen Sun is a very different kind of
retro throwback – an homage to the
first-person dungeon crawlers of yore.
If you’re a seasoned veteran of
the likes of The Bard’s Tale, Might
And Magic or Wizardry, you’ll find the
formula familiar, but those who spent
the ’80s wearing nappies and growing
teeth rather than PC gaming may need
a little more explanation.
Essentially, Operencia is a turn-
based RPG with a party of four
characters. You move the quartet as
one, tile-by-tile, as you explore each
level, encountering monsters and
puzzles along the way.The word ‘Operencia’ is taken from Hungarian folklore – it’s essentially their version of ‘in a land far, far away’
BELOW You’ll
pick your party
of four from a
roster of seven
recruitable
characters.
Operencia:
The Stolen Sun
Dungeons, dragons and
Attila The Hun
Robin Valentine
PUBLISHER ZEN STUDIOS DEVELOPER ZEN STUDIOS
ETA 2019“Underwater
dungeons,
massive frog
kings and
talking trees”
030 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE
PREVIEW