Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Gato Studio launched their Dragon Age-inspired time-travel RPG The Waylanders into early access back in 2020. And now, priced at $27.99 (including a 20% launch discount), the game is available on Steam and GOG as a complete product. So, if you’re interested in a Celtic-flavored party-based RPG, you should check out the game’s launch trailer:
And its description:
AN EPIC STORY INSPIRED BY CELTIC MYTHOLOGY
The first meeting between the Celts and their gods, the Tuatha de Danaan, should have been a time of celebration and enlightenment, but when negotiations go catastrophically wrong, a battle against a god leaves you near death and untethered from time!
Return to a land overtaken by magickal corruptions and a kingdom splintered into multiple factions warring for the throne. The Celtic society, a complex tapestry of different religions, human cultures, and mortal and immortal races such as the Mourians, Werewolves, Goblins, and monsters threaten to tear at every seam. Will you support the immature, yet rightful, heir, or the pragmatic general in their bid for the throne? What alliances will you forge, what friendships will you foster, what romances will you pursue, and… what will you do when you are suddenly thrust into Medieval Spain?
EXPLORE TWO ERAS
Things look pretty different in Galicia under Christianity than it did under Celtic rule. Magic is fading, religion is everywhere, and much has changed. Where are your immortal allies now, and what has become of the souls of your mortal friends? Discover changes made to the land over a thousand years of cultural change. Could the corrupt magicks that interfered during your meeting with the Tuatha have led to the destruction of all that the Celtic world held dear?
GATHER YOUR PARTY
The Waylanders draws inspiration from classic RPG, opening up a world of adventure for you and your companions to explore. Use real time with pause to strategically select party member combat spells and abilities to defeat roving bandits, rampaging beasts, monsters of legend, and more!
Discover a treasure trove of weapons, armour, trinkets, and more to outfit your party through your journey. With gods standing in your way, you’ll need every edge you can get.
COMPANION FORMATIONS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
The companions who set out alongside you on your journey make a massive difference in how you’ll overcome enemies. Different party class makeups grant a variety of Formation options, each with powerful offensive and defensive abilities. As you level up, unlock new classes, and explore, you’ll discover new Formations and formation abilities to add to your roster.
MAIN FEATURES
The Waylanders is an exciting fantasy RPG inspired by classics such as Dragon Age: Origins, Neverwinter Nights, and Baldur’s Gate.
Travel Between Eras – Time travel between two distinct eras: Celtic and Medieval. Meet old allies and discover reborn friends as you step from past to the future
A Story Like No Other – The Waylanders blends Celtic myth from the Spanish region of Galicia with exciting fantasy adventure
Faithful Companions – Befriend nine mortal and immortal companions to join you on your journeys through Celtic and Medieval Galicia. Discover their past, bond through special missions, and romance your favorites
Lands to Discover in Two Era – Explore more than 50 regions filled with quests, secrets, and enemies in both the Celtic and Medieval era
Multiple endings – Choices made in one time period have dire future consequences. Players will feel the impact of their decisions in surprising and shocking ways
Strategic tactical combat – Unique party formation abilities based on characters and classes open up deep, tactical combat options. Different party makeups unlock special offensive attacks and defensive abilities like Daggertip, Phalanx, Golem and Conclave.
Full Character Customization – Choose from six basic classes and further specialize into one of 30 advanced classes. Create your character from five playable races based on Celtic mythology, including unusual backgrounds such as Mourian, Semi-Fomorian, and Werewolf, each with a different origin
Immersive Soundtrack – The Waylanders features music composed by Emmy award-winner and three time BAFTA nominee, Inon Zur
Photo Mode – Capture the excitement and magic of the world of The Waylanders as you discover it with newly added photo features
There’s also this message from the studio’s founders:
Hi Everyone!
Fernando Prieto, co-founder of Gato Salvaje Studio here!
The Waylanders is out today! This is a project we’ve been working on for the last five years and I am so incredibly proud of the journey this team has taken us on. This is a story born of our Galician roots and many of the tales of our heritage have inspired elements throughout the game.
First, we have an amazing trailer to share with you. I hope you enjoy it!
[…]
Thank you so much to the entire Early Access community and our early backers for all your feedback and time spent exploring the Celtic Era. Your suggestions and bug reports have made The Waylanders a better game and pushed us to examine certain quality-of-life features that weren’t on our development schedule when we started, but with them, The Waylanders is much improved.
In an earlier post, we’d mentioned that the price of The Waylanders would be increasing. We have decided to hold off on increasing the price to $39.99 until at least a few updates have been made. We have also increased the launch discount to 20% off.
Now, we’d hoped that The Waylanders would not need a massive day one update… but it does. There are a few minor bugs in the Celtic Era that need to be addressed and some big ones that begin to pop up in the medieval period that reviewers with early builds of the game have made us aware of. We are actively working on a series of hotfixes and updates to bring The Waylanders up to a level of quality that you all deserve.
The first of these hotfixes, addressing issues with quest markers and main story bugs that occur when a cinematic should trigger but doesn’t, as well as minor bug fixes throughout the game, should be available soon. This will be followed by additional updates fixing bugs, polishing the game, and adding missing translated text that will be released in the days and weeks ahead. We’re working out the schedule right now and will have another community post up in the next day or two with a roadmap giving you an idea of what we’re working on and when it will be fixed.
At the end of these improvement updates, we’re going to look at adding quests, items, and other content left on the cutting room floor. These won’t impact the story overall, but will serve as fun new discoveries for players who return to The Waylanders to experience the story again with a new character.
Oh, and for our music fans, The Waylanders Official Soundtrack will be available on Steam and GOG shortly. Watch out for an announcement on here about that soon!
Now, while we’re hard at work working on these updates, we want to hear your stories and strategies! What’s your perfect party makeup? Got a favorite formation? Who did you romance? Let us know here on Steam, or our Twitter, Facebook, and Discord!
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Val Hull
Resident role-playing RPG game expert. Knows where trolls and paladins come from. You must fight for your right to gather your party before venturing forth.
