The Heartland Saga is a 2d action rpg game with an unusual spellcasting mechanic. In this dark comedy/satirical tale, you play as a clumsy scrawny sailor who found himself stranded on an island after capsizing his ship. After your sailor has lost all hope of escape, he awakes to find people on his shore. But in order to get to safety, he must help the rescuers with a special task. Being a person with no physical prowess, you must survive using nothing but a spellbook to fend off the hordes of evil creatures that inhabit the island. The game features everything that you'd see in every classic rpg such as puzzles, dungeon crawling, and combat, but takes the opportunity to poke fun at rpgs by making an effort to not take itself too seriously. Featuring a hint of hopelessness, goofy side-comments, silly easter eggs, and more, the game tries to form it's own genre of dark comedy out of a classic rpg genre.
In a fantasy world an Empire of men rule the majority of the land. This empire has become corrupt over time, leading it into a dark age. In order to keep their subjects loyal and faithful despite the famine and economic collapse that has struck the land, the royalty diverted the blame to the race of Elves, blaming their magic for causing all evils. The soldiers and citizens alike turn on the Elves leading to mass slaughter and imprisonment. At first the Elves try to put up a defense, but after finding themselves heavily outnumbered, they are forced to flee for their homeland; a mysterious island off the western coast of the mainland. With their fearless prince to lead them, the race hopes the refuge of this island will save them. But since they deserted that island many generations ago, the Elves know little of what dangers may lie within...all that was known was from the ancient phrase, "From the Island, within, the elements come for your kin"
During a majority of this conflict our protagonist, Feory, has been experiencing quite a different world. During a fishing trip, our clumsy fisherman capsized his boat leading to what he thought was his doom. Fortunately (In a way) Feory woke up, face down and boat-less on a beach. This beach was no ordinary beach. It had a strange feel to it, and by the looks of it resembled nothing in the mainland. There were houses, but they were abandoned. And there were odd noises coming from the forest in the distance. As you would probably guess, Feory found himself stranded on the island of the Elves. And as he tucked away in the safety of the abandoned homes, he had no idea what adventures he would be thrown into in the years to come.
The Heartland Saga features gameplay mechanics similar to classic rpgs like Zelda and Final Fantasy such as puzzle solving and dungeon crawling while incorporating interesting mechanics like a unique spellcasting system that adds strategies and individuality. Using a powerful spellbook you have the ability to craft fireballs, ice that can freeze your foes, rock that can bounce off walls, blizzards, telekenesis that throws your enemies, and more. As you travel the world solving puzzles and clearing monsters in search of powerful artifacts, your spellbook will level up and grow with you in strength. You will also be able to explore the world in any order you like (Although the tutorial and final dungeon will be in the same order) so that you can find the spells you desire and traverse the dungeons and world of the island however you feel.
