The Land of the Magnates is described as an "epic adventure of love, betrayal, and sacrifice" inspired by Middle Eastern myths, and follows prince Malik Shahbaz as he attempts to save his kingdom, which is "shrouded in darkness and silence following the death of its queen."
A new trailer for Land of the Magnates, debuted at the PC Gaming Show today. The game is an action platformer that sees the disgraced prince battle monsters, solve puzzles, and traverse "magical realms" in search of a cure for his father, who's been poisoned, and his lightless homeland—he's really having a bad day, isn't he?
"From the cursed Black Forest to the Land of the Sun shrouded in darkness, from the domain of the Water Princess to the marble lands of the Monkey Kings, Shahbaz will have to lift ancient curses, defeat vile minions of the dark with his trusty sitar, and solve complex puzzles requiring quick thinking—and quick fingers," says the developer.
Some of the most striking art from the new trailer looks like it's from a steampunk future where all the color has been drained out, giving it a noir look reminiscent of Cairo Station.
The gameplay looks familiar: running, jumping, wall jumping. Watching some dev gameplay on the Steam page, I noticed some very cool camera movement as they traversed the levels, which gives the game a unique look and feel. Whether this will translate into something that'll help keep us satisfied until Silksong comes out (give us a release date!) is yet to be determined, but it certainly seems worth a shot.
One interesting twist is that Prince Malik uses his trusty sitar as his only weapon and companion on the journey. Music forms a backbone of the footage we've seen as well as the gameplay mechanics, as you use the sitar as both a weapon and a tool to solve puzzles. The game features music by Turkish artists from Istabul.
Land of the Magnates is due out sometime in 2024, and will be available on Steam.
