Belgian Game Spotlight - Nanotale - Typing Chronicles
Welcome to a new Belgian Game Spotlight! Last month, we flew off into the sky with Liftoff, a drone racing simulator that surprised us with its attention to detail. In our December spotlight, we're switching the controller for a keyboard and start typing away with Nanotale - Typing Chronicles.
If you're into typing games, you may recall Epistory, the previous game in the Typing Chronicles franchise. It has wowed players with its stylish origami look as well as the creative use of typing mechanics for both combat and exploration. Fishing Cactus aims to build upon that foundation with Nanotale.
Before we continue, perhaps it's wise to first check out their trailer, as to get a better idea of what kind of game we're dealing with:
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If you thought Nanotale would be a sequel or prequel to Epistory, think again. While both games share many of the typing mechanics that make it so enjoyable, it's a standalone story set in an entirely different world.
In this new adventure, you follow Rosalind, a novice Archivist, as she journeys out to explore a distant world. Your role as an archivist is to gather knowledge: The more you learn about the world and its fauna & flora, the stronger you become.So whip out your notebook and start writing!
Gameplay-wise, you'll still be exploring a fantasy setting and typing context-relevant words to progress. Type "DOUSE" and you could be helping some plants to grow while "INFERNO" could be the word you use to burn away thorny brambles from your path.
The same applies to enemies, only they'll be on the move and may require special tactics to deal with them or to keep them at bay. You'll be typing the words above their heads to deal damage to them and you can add prefixes like LARGE PUSH to knock them back. You'll have to be quick and think on your feet, as combat gets a little bit more tactical than its predecessor.
What's entirely new, is that the world is now inhabited by NPCs (Non-Playable Characters). In Epistory we only had the narrator telling us about the world but this time around we get to talk to various races and learn about their customs. They'll give you quests and objectives to follow and there are even a few instances where you can kind of talk back by typing one of the highlighted words in their dialog boxes, to learn more about it.
While I still applaud the presentation of Epistory's combination of text on the floor alongside the soothing voice of the narrator, this new development does make the world feel more alive and it'll be interesting to see where the narrative takes us.
Speaking of presentation, Fishing Cactus has surprisingly done away with the papercraft look of the first game, which was universally applauded and instead opted for a pastel watercolour aesthetic. Some people in their community thought it was a bold risk, but their willingness to innovate seems to have paid off as the game looks fantastic.
Are your fingers itching to start typing away yet?
Then be sure to check out the Early Access on Steam!
But first, there is something else you could really help them with.
They're in the running on IndieDB for the best Indie of the Year and they could use your support. It only takes 2 clicks!
Vote for Nanotale - Typing Chronicles as the Indie of the Year
Want to keep up-to-date on the game and the studio? Here are a few places you can follow them:
We hope you've enjoyed this feature article and if you're a Belgian game developer yourself, don't be afraid to reach out and maybe we'll spotlight your game next month!
