Has Russia always been this "enemy" portrayed in most video games? Czech-Slovak studio Sornyak Arts begs to disagree.
The indie game developer has announced a Kickstarter campaign for its upcoming game Legion 1917: Rise of the Bolsheviks. The game is an isometric turn-based strategy game set in 1917 Russia during the harrowing days of the Bolshevik Revolution, a time that saw the Tsarist Empire crumble. Unlike AAA titles with fleeting Russian campaigns like Battlefield 1, Legion 1917 will take players right into the heart of this pre-Soviet Russia.
The game is slated for a Nov. 7, 2017 release.
The Good And Bad Side Of Russia
According to one of the dev blog posts, Russia has always been portrayed in video games as "the evil nation." However, Sornyak Arts, a team composed of Czechs and Slovaks, wants this "black and white view" to change. There are no good or bad nations during wars, only ordinary people who get caught up in this abstract struggle for power. So through Legion 1917, the studio aims to tell the tale of the people trapped in the chaos of war.
"Our main characters are going to represent many sides of the conflict - many perspectives on how the new world should be shaped. The struggle was not only between the communism, monarchism and democracy, but also between nationalism and internationalism, between science and religion or between [women's] emancipation and [restraint]. You will find all this in the game," the devs wrote.
A Turn-Of-The-Century Turn-Based Strategy Game
In Legion 1917, players will take control of brothers Vilem and Pavel, sons of Czech immigrants, as they flee from the crumbling empire. Misfortune has struck, forcing them to flee from St. Petersburg. The ruling powers were the Bolsheviks - a state that began to unleash a reign of terror to the populace. Together, Vilem and Pavel must lead their companions on a journey in order to survive.
The game will be played from a third-person, isometric perspective. As a turn-based strategy game, players will take turns moving their units across a tiled map. Additional gameplay elements include a cover system, a guard mode, explosives, and sentry machine guns. Dialogue choices will also affect the success of major missions and sidequests.
Kick-starting A Revolution
A Kickstarter campaign has been launched to help fund the game's development. The target is to get 65,000 euros ($68,505) by March 29, 2017 at 9:55 p.m. AWST (8:55 a.m. EST).
Sornyak Arts is an indie Czech-Slovak studio based in Prague, the Czech Republic. It was founded in February 2016 and went into full production of Legion in September of the same year. Legion 1917 was presented at White Nights Prague 2017. For more updates, check its website regularly.
