Katanagari is a single-player RPG built to capture the spirit of early 2000s games. Zemore Indie Games has announced the project, which is being made by solo developer Jucheh, and an official Steam playtest is expected before the end of the year. The game takes place in a handcrafted fantasy world that seeks to blend Asian history and folklore with medieval elements. Exploration and discovery sit at its centre, with the stated aim of recapturing the appeal of classic RPGs, where curiosity pays off and the journey is valued over repetitive grinding.
Jucheh explained the main idea behind the game’s design:
This is the core design principle of my game: to recreate the feeling of those early years of MMORPGs in a uniquely different world and despite solitary play
Players work with a magic system built on five elements to develop their skills, while also completing quests, fighting creatures, gathering resources and upgrading equipment. Progress is permanent, and the game avoids locking players into artificial gameplay structures. Rather than rewarding the amount of time spent grinding, Katanagari is designed to reward observation, curiosity and experimentation while exploring.
The world is built by hand rather than procedurally generated and aims to draw on what players loved about classic MMORPGs, placing the emphasis on the memories made during the adventure instead of grinding and click-heavy boss fights. Quests are tied into the story and are intended to be rewarding, moving and funny. Alongside them, players can expect to come across NPCs, minigames, random events and small easter eggs throughout the world, all presented with simple graphics.
