Cralon

TBA

Release Date: TBA

RPG, FPP, Fantasy, Dungeon Crawler, Indie Games, Action RPG, Singleplayer

A first-person dungeon crawler, inspired by Ultima Underworld and Arx Fatalis. Cralon was developed by Pithead Studio, founded by Bjorn and Jenny Pankratz after their departure from Piranha Bytes (known for the Gothic series). The game is about exploring the underground, either engaging in open combat or using stealth. It runs on Unreal Engine 5.

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Story
Gameplay
Game engine

Cralon is a dungeon crawler-style production on the border of RPGs and action adventure games, inspired by Ultima Underworld and Arx Fatalis. The game is the debut project of Pithead Studio, founded by Jenny and Bjorn Pankratz after their departure from the Piranha Bytes team.

Story

Cralon takes us to a fantasy world. We embody the titular warrior who, while hunting for a demon terrorizing a nearby village, falls into an old mine shaft. The protagonist has no choice but to move forward and explore the underground labyrinth. Before he finds a way out of the tunnels, he will have to get to know the dungeon's inhabitants and face the dangers lurking there.

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Gameplay

In Cralon we view the action from a first-person perspective (FPP).

Dungeon and quests

The adventure leads us through the darkness-shrouded underground, and its driving force are quests that push the story forward, accompanied by side missions. While exploring the mine, we get to know its inhabitants. The eyes of friendly creatures glow blue, while the enemies shimmer in red.

Opponents, combat and stealth

Encounters with opponents are a common occurrence here, and we can make use of both melee weapons and ranged weapons during combat. Similar to the previous Pankratz games, our character is not the strongest at the beginning. We don't have good equipment, but this changes over time. As we progress, we develop Cralon and gather increasingly better equipment.

The game does not force us to constantly fight. We might as well sneak behind the enemy's back or eliminate them by surprise. Using light sources (like torches) is essential during underground exploration, but we should give them up during stealth. This can complicate matters, because even though it is harder for us to be noticed, we also struggle to see anything ourselves.

Apart from enemies, traps pose a threat to the protagonist. From time to time, the protagonist also has to solve puzzles.

Consequence system

The game has implemented a consequence system, which makes our actions and decisions affect the course of the gameplay in various ways. For example - if we get caught while raiding the enemy camp, we will end up in prison, from which we have to escape. However, by being cautious and avoiding detection, we can avoid this problem.