Children of Lumera to be delivered in 2021

Written by Jack Allin — July 13, 2019 at 10:38

To be deprived of one's dreams is always a horrible prospect, but it's all the more terrible when one's dreams have the power to create worlds. This is the fate that threatens to befall the inhabitants of indie Austrian developer Phantom Fox Interactive's upcoming Children of Lumera.

The historical lore of Lumera is integral to the game's plot, as "aeons ago, the folk of Alven children walked the face of the earth, dreaming and thereby creating a world full of wonderful creatures and magical beauty to surround them." All powers can be corrupted, however, and indeed "a boy named Grimgol upset the balance of constructive and destructive forces of the world and the Alvenkind was seen nevermore." Eventually even "the knowledge of dreaming faded away," leaving only ruins of the days of "ancient magic and grandeur," along with a few "secret spots where dream magic endured – waiting to be found." 

In modern times, a young girl named Elo Brightfyre is ready to follow in her missing grandfather's footsteps and "undergo the ancient Ritual of Renewal on his behalf" with the help of Jagveiga, the "quirky village elder." Normally Elo enjoys getting lost deep the Ardon woods to "think about the secrets and mysteries awaiting her behind the steep Cauldron Mountains." In the evenings while watching the sun go down, she "hums ancient songs of heroic deeds." Now, however, a "mysterious fog [has started] creeping into the houses of Slumber Deep’s inhabitants [...] to steal their hopes, dreams and aspirations." And so Elo herself must set out from her village to embark on an epic adventure that touches on "the importance of dreaming and creativity, friendship, hope, and the magic within every one of us." To succeed, she will not only need to "face her fears but also a dark power to save the dreaming in her world."

Presented in a lovely hand-drawn art style, Children of Lumera was originally meant to be a children's book but has since "grown into a full size adventure game for children young to old." Set in a fantastical world "full of creatures, magic and wonders," the game employs traditional point-and-click adventure mechanics and promises plenty of puzzles to solve in your travels. Along the way, Elo will "find unexpected friends and learn the ancient, magical rune language that will help her defend herself against the dark villain Grimgol." The journey will take her far and wide, including stops at the Dune Sea, the City of Golden Sails, the Peaks of Rova Dar, the Dreamless City, a shipwreck on the Isle of Light, and Mokra Dur, "where the dark dreams live."

There is no firm target release date so far, but the developers are hoping to complete Children of Lumera sometime in early 2021 for Windows, Mac, Linux, Switch and iOS devices. PS4 and Xbox are also being considered but may depend on the success of the planned Kickstarter campaign to help fund development. While you wait, you can follow the game's progress by visiting the official website for more information.