Shattered: Tale Of The Forgotten King - What We Know So Far

Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King is an upcoming indie 2.5D platformer that will be available on PS4 and Xbox One as well as PC and Mac. An action-adventure title with RPG elements, it looks to be a blend of Hollowborn-style platforming and souls-like combat, especially since it will feature 12 different boss fights. 

Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King has come a long way since concept artist and illustrator Maxime René first conceived of the idea in 2006. René developed the game's characters and world for nearly a decade until he founded Redlock Studio in 2015 to formally begin work on the project. The Lyon, France-based company completed a successful Kickstarter campaign for the game in 2016. That same year, Square Enix added Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King to the Square Enix Collective, a company that helps indie games get published while allowing their creators to retain creative control.  

Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King clearly has some publishing muscle behind it, and now, nearly five years after Square Enix came onboard, it's nearly ready for market. Here's everything we know.

Shattered will release on February 17, 2021, as developer and publisher Redlock Studio just announced on Twitter. Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King has been available on Steam Early Access since Jun. 4, 2019. Players who have already bought the Beta version can expect all the game's areas to be accessible in the final version, as well as more enemy types, bosses, NPCs, and story content. The full version will also be priced higher than the Beta, which costs $24.99, but Redlock hasn't yet stated what the new price will be. They also haven't yet specified whether Beta users will be able to upgrade to the full game at a reduced price.

The February release date would mark almost six years since the game has been in development. Redlock Studios began work on it in 2015 and completed a successful round of fundraising on Kickstarter in 2016. 

Redlock's release date Tweet also contained a new trailer that showcased the game's setting, gameplay, and combat, along with some of its RPG elements, lore, and crafting system. Another trailer in 2019 covered some of the game's backstory. And the 2016 Kickstarter page first introduced many of these elements. 

Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King takes place in the world of Hypnos, which was created by a mysterious king who has since left his throne. Now the land is in decline and subject to the whims of various malevolent gods. The player takes control of the Wanderer, the requisite hero with newly discovered magical powers they must learn to master. In Hypnos, almost everyone is born silent and wears a mask that signifies their identity, except for the Whisperers, who have the power of speech and speak on behalf of everyone else — the creepy, pale creature on the Wanderer's shoulder is their Whisperer. The Wanderer's task is to figure out why the king vanished while avoiding the creatures that roam Hypnos in the chaos.

Per Redlock, Shattered is a dark fantasy RPG with many of the classic role-playing elements. Players will acquire skill points that they can then spend on stats. "Ether" is the game's version of mana, and it's used to power abilities as well as attacks and armor. In terms of combat, there will be light and heavy attacks, as well as various moves like feints, dodges, dashes, and combos.

It will be a 2.5D platformer with an emphasis on puzzle-solving. The game world is made up of different zones. Each zone has one major puzzle and three minor ones that the player must solve to progress. They will also have to fight 12 bosses.

Another big emphasis will be solving the mystery at the center of Hypnos. The player will be able to uncover clues about the world and the king's disappearance by collecting pieces of lore, like the Scroll from the Geodesian Book and the enigmatic Eibon fragments scattered throughout the world.