Hello and welcome to Lysward!
To those of you who are new here, we're Snowcastle Games, an independent game developer based in Norway. You might know us from the nostalgic JRPG EARTHLOCK or the cozy Ikonei Island. We're now working on Lysward, a single-player survival adventure set in the desert.
Yes, desert! We’re pretty sure you’ve seen Norwegian people making games about desert before (if you know, you know).
We’re explorers by nature so we decided to step outside our “snowy” comfort zone and create a game set in a harsh desert where survival hinges on your ability to adapt, find resources, and create deep relationships with your crew.
So climb on board and let’s explore it together.
The desert is unforgiving
The name “Lysward” is a fusion of two elements: “Lys,” the name of the Sun in the EARTHLOCK universe, and also a Norwegian word for “light”; and “ward,” symbolizing a journey or movement. We chose this title to evoke a sense of exploration and adventure.
Lysward is set in a vast and unforgiving desert within the fantastical world of Umbra. If you've played our other games, you might recognize a few familiar elements.
The planet Umbra doesn't turn, so the sun is stationary in the sky. This bathes one part of the world in perpetual daylight and makes the intense heat your enemy number one. The sun is also the source of a powerful magic called Amri.
You'll play as an escaped experiment from the facility that was both his home and prison. You will have to navigate this treacherous desert, where the sun's relentless heat can quickly overwhelm you. A key way to ensure your survival is to search for remains of advanced technology left behind by ancient civilizations.
To endure the relentless heat, you’ll need to explore the sands, scavenge for resources, and craft tools and technologies to help you on your journey. Master the art of survival, and the desert will reveal wonders beyond your imagination.
Exploring the sands
As we announced here, we're leveraging many of the tools we developed for EARTHLOCK 2 in the creation of Lysward. One of the most important gameplay elements is the Speeder, a small but fast vehicle that’s not just your ride across the sands, but also a mobile base of operations for you and your companion. While it offers heat protection, the Speeder can be damaged and will require repairs.
Join the adventure
If you liked what you saw here, please consider adding Lysward to your wishlist. It shows us how much interest there is in the game and helps with visibility.
We will be having a closed playtest soon, so don’t forget to join our Discord community if you want to be part of it!
See you soon!
Snowcastle Games
