Sycoforge
Sycoforge is a Swiss game studio located in Zurich. It consists of an interdisciplinary team of engineers, mathematicians, artists, and other creatives. Following the belief that good and exciting experiences are created with unparalleled dedication and attention to detail, Sycoforge develops unique, transmedia projects settled within a fantasy universe called Arafinn.
The idea behind Sycoforge emerged back in 2009 when two game-enthusiastic engineering students decided to spend all their free time to work on bringing their dream to life: creating a vast fantasy universe that can be home to thousands of stories. Stories that can be told using various media such as printed and interactive books, tabletop, and video games. Inspired by the idea behind Arafinn other number magicians, code-crackers and design-virtuosos joined the Sycoforge journey.
Sycoforge, as a public company, was founded in 2017 by Ismael Wittwer and Michela Rimensberger.
Projects
Arafinn - Return to Nangrim
"Cold winds howl through the abandoned caverns of Nangrim. This forsaken place holds nothing good for those who dare to pass. Now you must survive down in the depths of this ancient dwarven mountain city and discover the fate of the Stonebeards in their last days."
Return to Nangrim is a dark first-person fantasy adventure game with survival, and RPG elements. In order to unveil the legends woven around the once glorious Stonebeards, you must rely on your skills and the knowledge of the dwarves, concealed in long-forgotten books and scrolls.
In one sentence it's like: Hellblade meets Skyrim in Middle-Earth
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Features
- Experience procedurally generated content and puzzles that guarantee slightly different gameplay for every player.
- Explore epic locations and unveil their secrets.
- Collect and combine items, and interact with the environment to progress.
- Become a master blacksmith. Learn to forge like the dwarves of old.
- Get familiar with Hilduir, the runic language of the dwarves, to piece together the story, puzzles, and culture of this long-forgotten nation.
- Keep your torch close when darkness approaches since light is a rare good in the mountain's depth.
Development
The pre-production of Return to Nangrim started in 2017, and the production in 2018.
Downloads
Download the presskit 2021 ZIP-Archive.
The Universe - Arafinn
Arafinn is a continuously growing self-contained fantasy universe consisting of more than 25 provinces and 2600 cities and villages inhabited by more than 600 families, clans, and tribes. There are four main languages spoken across the lands. These are Tirdish, the language of men; Hilduir, the language of the hills, spoken by the dwarves; Valdrilish, the elves' language, and Omturu spoken in Utursgard by its bloodthirsty inhabitants. Each language comes with its own grammar and alphabet. There's its own world map, genesis, and even own units of measurement (time, distance, weight, etc.) were built from scratch to breathe life into the Arafinn Universe.
Explore the map of Arafinn online. (PC WebGL only)
The Storybooks
Once in a while, Sycoforge releases interactive short stories settled in the world of Arafinn. The stories, vividly narrated by different voice actors, come with illustrations and epic music. These storybooks cover topics of different nature, separated into different categories. At the moment, these categories comprise Dwarven Tales, Old Legends of Valdril, and Stories from Ùtursgard.
The first storybook in the series Dwarven Tales tells the story of the fall of Nangrim, the events that ultimately lead to the story behind the game Return to Nangrim.
Experience the first chapter online. (PC WebGL only)