There seems to be a Tarot trend brewing in video games. The phenomenal Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood by Deconstructeam launched last year, telling the story of an exiled witch making her own divination deck. Cherrymochi is currently developing Exit Veil, which features a unique Tarot deck that allows players to unlock insights that extend beyond the game and into the realm of self-discovery. Today, Sovereign Syndicate launched; it is a Victorian steampunk cRPG that involves its own unique Tarot system, too.
The game is set in the smoggy streets of a fantastical steampunk Victorian London. Fantasy creatures lives amongst humans. The game’s world focuses on the east docklands, and there are over 20 locations to explore. There are many ways to solve problems: combat, persuasion, magic, and explosives. The choice is yours.
Sovereign Syndicate features three characters with branching, intertwining stories. Atticus Daley is an orphaned Minotaur magician dying for a sense of belonging as well as his next fix. Clara Reed is a corsair with a questionable past; cunning and rebellious, she is on the search for vengeance. Otto is a trust automaton and companion to engineer Theodore Redgrave; Otto wants more to life than being a servant and a utility. Each character has their own set of skills, equipment, and expertise. And each can effect the temperament of the city.
The game’s Tarot cards replace a traditional dice system. While NPCs will react to a character’s gender, race, appearance, and dialogue choices. Try all you want to get the “right” result, but the Tarot card chance system could bungle it all up regardless. Use skills to improve upon them, or choose to ignore them and let them stagnate. By mastering your chosen skills you can learn about the world, and unlock special dialogue and skill-check options.
Outside of the Tarot factor, something else draws me to Sovereign Syndicate: the team creating it. Crimson Herring Studios is an indie studio based in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) that has a remote team of over 20 developers. The studio aims to focus on narrative-driven games with a twist of mystery and intrigue. It is funded through a combination of Canada Media Funds programs and self-funding/self-publishing. So basically, it’s a Canadian studio (awesome) that hires people worldwide (awesome) to tell profound stories (awesome) through the medium of video games (still awesome).
Developed and published by Crimson Herring Studios, Sovereign Syndicate is now available for PC via Steam/GOG.
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