“Toren is the first adventure game from Brazilian indie developer Swordtales,” Versus Evil community director Lance James says in the official PlayStation announcement. “You are Moonchild, destined to climb the tower (known as Toren) on a hauntingly solitary adventure to find your purpose.”
The game’s launch trailer bears a resemblance to the PlayStation classic Ico, which James acknowledges as a major source of inspiration due to its emptiness and simple narrative. Meanwhile, its simple aesthetic design is reminiscent of 2012’s Papo & Yo, using a matte color palette and foliage-filled environments.
“Cursed with eternal sunlight,” the Moonchild must climb the Toren and resume the passage of time. Although it’s presented by Versus Evil as an adventure game, the glimpses of combat seen in the trailer, as well as a sword embedded in stone, suggest that Zelda may have also been an influence. Standing in the Moonchild’s way is The Dragon, a monster capable of petrifying “any living behind around it.”
“Death is not the end,” the narrator declares. “It’s up to you to find our new beginning.”
While Toren will typically sell for $10, there are two separate offers to encourage early purchases. On Steam, pre-ordering the game will drop the price to $9. Similarly, PlayStation Plus subscribers receive the same discount if they buy Toren within its first week of launch.
Versus Evil, which prides itself as an independent publisher in the same vein as Devolver Digital, is currently partnered with several studios aside from Swordtales and The Banner Saga developer Stoic. Tangrin Entertainment — a two-person team from the Netherlands — is currently working on the Viking RPG Kyn for PC, Mac, and Linux, and Seattle-based 4gency is developing the strategy game Habitat for PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and mobile platforms.
