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Earthlock

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Earthlock
Universal cover art with the original title
Developer(s)Snowcastle Games
Publisher(s)Soedesco
Director(s)Bendik Stang
Producer(s)Erik Hoftun
Designer(s)
  • Thomas French
Programmer(s)
  • Eivind Fjellvang Ljønes
  • Kenneth Backus
Artist(s)
  • Frits Olsen
  • Fredrik Dahl
  • Matthew Wells
Writer(s)Magnus Aspli
Composer(s)
SeriesEarthlock
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Xbox One
Microsoft Windows
OS X
Linux
PlayStation 4
Wii U
Nintendo Switch
ReleaseXbox One
  • WW: September 1, 2016
Windows, OS X, Linux
  • WW: September 27, 2016
PlayStation 4
  • WW: January 27, 2017
Wii U
  • EU: September 7, 2017
  • NA: September 14, 2017
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: March 8, 2018
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Earthlock (formerly titled Earthlock: Festival of Magic) is a role-playing video game developed and published by the Norwegian company Snowcastle Games for Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, and Wii U.[1] The Xbox One version was launched on September 1, 2016 worldwide.[2] The Windows, OS X, and Linux versions, initially planned for release at the same time as the Xbox One release, were postponed to September 27, 2016.[3] The game is planned to be the first volume of an Earthlock trilogy. The Wii U version was released on September 7, 2017 in Europe, and on September 14, 2017 in North America. A version for the Nintendo Switch was released on March 8, 2018. The game received mixed reviews from critics, who were heavily divided. Some called it a nostalgic throwback with memorable characters, while others panned its design as dated, and its art style, gameplay and/or story as bland or unoriginal.

A sequel, titled Earthlock 2, was announced in July 2020.[4]

Gameplay

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The player's party depicted fighting a group of enemies.

The game plays as a non-linear role-playing video game with turn based battles.[5] In combat, characters fight in pairs - a "warrior" and a "protector". The warrior uses consumable items such as ammunition, while the protector can perform spells like healing and shields. When the characters are damaged by enemies, they accumulate support points, which can be used to activate other moves. Pairing different combinations of characters unlocks different moves and tactics, greatly affecting the flow of battle.[6]

Plot

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The game's story takes place in the world of Umbra, where a cataclysmic event occurs that stops the planet from spinning.[7] This leaves part of the world scorched by constant sunlight, part of it perpetually cold due to lack of sunlight, and a patch of livable land in between. The incident ends up burying much of the past advanced civilization, but humanity survives and society begins anew in the habitable part of the planet. The story follows the adventurer Amon, who, among his usual activities of scavenging ruins, gets entangled in a much larger conflict with the ruling Suvian Empire.[6]

Development

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The game is inspired by early Square Japanese role-playing games, though Snowcastle wanted to subvert common genre character stereotypes.[8] Development for the game started as early as 2011,[9] with a pre-alpha build trailer being released in May 2013.[10] The game was originally just known by its subtitle, Festival of Magic.[11]

In November 2013, the game was placed on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter with the aim of securing $250,000 in funding.[12][13] However, Snowcastle later pulled from the platform, due to it getting lost in the crowd during the holiday season.[9] A fresh Kickstarter campaign was launched in March 2014 with a lowered goal of $150,000. This second campaign was successful, raising $178,000 in April 2014.[9][14] The game's plot was written by comic book writer Magnus Aspli.[15]

An early concept demo was released in March 2014 for the Windows, OS X and Linux platforms.[16]

Snowcastle Games partnered with Cross Function to release the game in Japan.[17] Despite waning interest in the Wii U in 2016 after the announcement of the Nintendo Switch, Snowcastle Games upheld their promise of a Wii U version, with an unnamed third-party handling porting duties.[18] The Wii U version was ultimately released in September 2017 as a digital-only title.[19] Due to the initial release's poor reception, it was announced in 2018 that a massively reworked version of the game, titled Earthlock, would launch that same year for Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One.[20][21]

Reception

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Prior to its re-release, the game received an aggregate score of 56/100 for its PlayStation 4 version and 66/100 for its Xbox One version, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Its post-revamp Nintendo Switch version received a higher, though still mixed score of 73/100.

References

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  1. ^ "Earthlock: Festival of Magic Sprouts on Kickstarter". Cubed3. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  2. ^ "Earthlock: Festival of Magic is Coming to Xbox One September 1st". Snowcastle Games. Archived from the original on 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2016-08-20.
  3. ^ "Earthlock: Steam Launch postponed to September 27th". Snowcastle Games. Archived from the original on 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  4. ^ "Earthlock 2 Announced for PS5 and Xbox Series X + First Open-World Gameplay Details Revealed". IGN. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  5. ^ "Festival of Magic Kickstarter Relaunches With a Fresh Name". Nintendo Life. 9 March 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Earthlock: Festival of Magic (XBO, Steam, PS4, WiiU)". KickStarter. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
  7. ^ "Festival of Magic Kickstarter relaunched with new name". Gematsu. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  8. ^ Dave Cook (15 April 2014). "Earthlock: can a JRPG from the West tick all the right boxes?". VG247. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
  9. ^ a b c Ishaan (2014-03-06). "Indie RPG Earthlock: Festival of Magic Resurfaces After A Brief Silence". Siliconera. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  10. ^ Ishaan (2013-05-12). "Festival of Magic Is Another Indie RPG Headed To Wii U's eShop". Siliconera. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  11. ^ "News: Earthlock: Festival of Magic Sprouts on Kickstarter Page 1 at Nintendo Cubed3". Cubed3. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  12. ^ Snowcastle Games (2013-11-20). "Festival of Magic". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
  13. ^ "The lovely turn-based RPG Festival of Magic, which was showcased at PAX Prime a few months ago, is now on Kickstarter. They're asking for $250,000". Kotaku. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  14. ^ Snowcastle Games (2014-03-12). "Earthlock: Festival of Magic". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
  15. ^ Hinkle, David (2013-11-28). "Festival of Magic wants to turn farmers into warriors". Joystiq. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  16. ^ "Earthlock: Festival of Magic Kickstarter Gameplay Demo". ScrewAttack. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  17. ^ Snowcastle Games (6 September 2017). "Wii U release imminent!". Kickstarter. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  18. ^ Whitehead, Thomas (8 November 2016). "Earthlock: Festival of Magic Still On Track for Wii U, With Third-Party Producing Port". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  19. ^ Forde, Matt (6 September 2017). "Earthlock: Festival of Magic Wii U Release Date Confirmed Alongside Switch Teaser". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  20. ^ "Snowcastle Games Offers Free Game Upgrade for Earthlock Relaunch". PlayStation LifeStyle. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  21. ^ CONTENT, SAVING (2018-05-22). "EARTHLOCK offered as a free upgrade to Earthlock: Festival of Magic owners, even for the physical version". Saving Content. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  22. ^ "Earthlock: Festival of Magic for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  23. ^ "Earthlock: Festival of Magic for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  24. ^ "Earthlock for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  25. ^ Sleeper, Morgan (March 23, 2018). "Earthlock Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  26. ^ Lloyd, David (April 13, 2018). "Earthlock (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  27. ^ Shepherd, Harry (January 30, 2017). "Earthlock: Festival of Magic Review (PS4)". Push Square. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
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