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Prologue provides doorway to Project Grove

They say two heads are better than one, and perhaps nowhere has that been more true than in Antler Studios' Forest Grove, in which players can literally jump on the head of their friend and companion to navigate lovely but potentially deadly environments. 

A rapid rise in technology always comes with a cost, even if that technology is steam-powered and the advancements are all alchemical. In the Empire, such progress led to "unprecedented feats of alchemy," but as a consequence the "mass harvesting of flora has devastated the ecosystem, and a deadly plague called 'The Great Rot' has evolved." There is no known cure, but a corporation "specializing in robotics and alchemy" known as Potentium is sure that the answer may lie on Dacrima, a "peninsula on the edge of the Empire" and the "rumoured birthplace of magic." Enter one Edric Tate, an alchemist who brews "his own concoctions and invented many of the potions used in everyday life" but is considered "a little bit kooky from decades of alchemic practice." With more than a little help from his highly knowledgeable but possibly faulty mechanical friend L-P1N, Edric sets out into the "once feared forest [that] now shines as a beacon of hope." 

From its "musky autumnal wetlands, to deep dark crystal caves," Dacrima is renowned for being "spectacularly beautiful, but a deceptively dangerous place, full of unforgiving terrain" and unusual wildlife. Fortunately, helping you navigate these treacherous landscapes is L-P1N, who can be flattened, expanded and used as a "placeable platform" to jump on. As you explore, you must "collect exotic ingredients from magical flora" that are "protected by enchantments which can be unlocked by activating hard-to-reach glyphs." Once acquired, you can take these elements back to your lab at base camp to grow your own plants and "experiment on them for visually dazzling and potentially propitious results." 

As an alchemist, your discoveries will enable you to "craft potions and gain new abilities by successfully combining magical ingredients." With enhanced powers for solving puzzles, you can "carve your own path and uncover the secrets of the Grove using your own brand of alchemy." Before long you'll be able to "cast crystal lasers, ride a carpet of clouds across the sky and more!" The world of Dacrima is an open one, designed for leisurely, nonlinear exploration, and the "potion loadout you choose in your base will determine where you can go and what you can do" at any given time. You can even partake in "curious and bizarre side quests, but all the while you'll have to deal with ongoing remote communications from Lorna Casely, the "strong, sassy mouthpiece" overseeing your expedition and a "stickler for Potentium's rules and regulations." 

While Project Grove isn't due out on Steam until sometime next year, you can check out what's in store first-hand already through the playable prologue available now for Windows PC, introducing the first quest of the full version of the game. 

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