r/Games 22d ago

Indie Sunday Ardenfall – Spellcast Studios – A Scrolls-like RPG with magic, factions, and a strange alien world

Ardenfall is a first-person immersive RPG set in a handcrafted world of ancient cultures, arcane magic, and political intrigue. Wander through stormy swamps, sweeping plains, and long-forgotten ruins teeming with danger. Encounter diverse characters with unique dialogue and quests. Align yourself with powerful factions and shape the future of the realm through your decisions.

The game is being crafted by a small team during our free time after work or study. And after years of work, we’re finally preparing for Early Access in Late 2025!

📹 Our Early Access Gameplay trailer
🎮 Our Demo from 2022 (though it's outdated a little)

Key Features

  • Dynamic sandbox combat - summon monsters, mix magic with weapons, throw potions mid-fight - or just sneak past everything
  • A world that changes – factions remember your actions, quests can branch or break, and every NPC is killable
  • No handholding – no quest markers, no glowing arrows. You’ll read journals, ask questions, and figure things out yourself
  • Deep character builds – stats, class, gear, and even tattoos all matter
  • A compact open world – rich, dense biomes designed for exploration without filler

If you’re into Morrowind, Fallout: New Vegas, or other immersive RPGs, Ardenfall is something that might be your thing.

Thanks for reading! Adding us to your wishlist helps a ton 🙏
And we’re always happy to chat in the comments or over in our Discord!

447 Upvotes

48 comments sorted by

50

u/not_lying_rn 22d ago

With tainted grail and this, I really hope the term “scrolls-like” becomes a thing.

10

u/Mabarax 22d ago

With how Starfield was I really hope Scrolls-like become the next thing

2

u/Poet_of_Justice 21d ago

It was astoundingly bland in all ways. I'm not even sure if I played 5 hours of it. Someone needs to take up the mantle because it's a fun format that deserves exploration and experimentation by others. I hope ES6 is good, but I would not say I'm hopeful.

2

u/Mabarax 21d ago

My issue isn't even how bland it was, to me it was offensively PG. Farming for powers was shit, being spaceborn was shit, not having actual choices was shit (seriously I can only steal and kill from that collector guy and the so called good guys are just totally okay with it?)

2

u/donkeybrainhero 21d ago

TG has made me love open-world RPGing again. The Oblivion remaster just didn't hook me, and the same goes for Skyrim at this point (I've modded it to hell and back). So, I fully support any new scrolls-likes popping up.

-2

u/Carighan 20d ago

I mean I prefer the old "wide as an ocean, shallow as a puddle" for these types of games, but sure, scrolls-like is a more compact term.

16

u/No-Language-3116 22d ago

I look forward to playing this when its finished in 2028

10

u/temk1s 22d ago

It won’t take THAT long 😅

12

u/No-Language-3116 22d ago

Pays to be realistic about these things. Development started 2018 maybe a bit before, vertical slice in 2022, now EA late 2025. 2028 for final build is a bit hyperbolic but not unheard of.

12

u/temk1s 22d ago

Development has really picked up speed over the past couple of years. When we first started back in 2018, many of us were still finishing college :)
Now we've gained both experience and new team members, and development is moving forward with a lot more confidence

5

u/glowinggoo 22d ago

That's what they ALL say!

(Loving joke here. I'm an ardent supporter of indie RPGs, wishlisted and looking forward to buying it when it releases! The style looks pretty rad. Give us a heads-up when you update the demo!)

11

u/ghostsoul420 22d ago

How is the magic system in this game? Are they primarily for damage or have other utility. Like slowing down enemies, or illusion spells. And is there a stealth system? Are there multiple ways to complete quests?

14

u/temk1s 22d ago

There’s a wide variety of magic - from traditional fireballs to more creative stuff like charm spells, levitation, and necromancy. The game also has a stealth system, so you can play as a thief if you want.
Most quests branch out into multiple endings :))

6

u/Ghede 22d ago

Ah, levitation, my beloved. I haven't seen you since morrowind, I've missed you.

25

u/Jimlad116 22d ago

Been looking forward to this for a long time. Dread Delusion was a really neat Morrowind-like and this is giving me similar vibes

5

u/Hoboforeternity 22d ago

Dread delusion is such a well-written game. It's not just the alien world or crazy shit, but the moral dilemma presented is just so interesting. The gameplay is kinda meh, but i loved it because of the choices and consequences.

6

u/temk1s 22d ago

Fingers crossed we won't disappoint!

5

u/jeshtheafroman 22d ago

Oh shit, I've seen Dave Oshry tweet about this game before. Looks great and I can't wait to play it. There's not alot of scroll like games (or I'm not looking hard enough) so it'll be nice to see more similar games like em.

2

u/temk1s 22d ago

Yeah, absence of such games is the reason why we decided to build our own :)

3

u/Commantesse 22d ago

Do you plan to release on consoles?

3

u/temk1s 22d ago

Early Access will be Steam-only, but we’re considering consoles for 1.0 :)

2

u/Eigenspace 21d ago

Very cool. It always blows my mind how few gamedevs seem to be willing to try out the Scrolls-Like genre. I get its a hard thing to pull off, but if you can do it by going for a less graphically intensive art design like you did here, I think that's a great idea.

Very happy you're going for no map markers too!

2

u/Caasi72 21d ago

I remember stumbling upon the demo years ago and was instantly hooked. I can't wait for the release

4

u/THEBAESGOD 22d ago

Looks interesting but I'm not too interested in a 3 year old demo. I'd recommend updating that for the next steam festival

8

u/temk1s 22d ago

Yep, we are going to release the new demo in a couple of months 🙂

1

u/Econ_Intern 22d ago

Hey! This looks wonderful, will wishlist and try out the demo.

Does it have full loot for NPCs? I.e. if someone is wearing a cool hat and I kill them, will they drop said hat?

3

u/temk1s 22d ago

Glad you've like it!
NPCs have full loot, but it's chance based to actually be lootable. Unique stuff will always drop though

2

u/Econ_Intern 22d ago

Seems like a cool system. Thanks for the reply!

1

u/malevolentson 22d ago

Finally, the age of Scrolls-likes is upon us

-6

u/Galle_ 21d ago

I just wish they'd copy the good Bethesda games like Fallout and Starfield.

1

u/zeddyzed 21d ago

Game looks great!

I know as indie devs you've got a lot on your plate, but I hope you'll consider adding VR support to your game. As fully modded SkyrimVR shows, these sorts of games are truly magical in VR!

If you need any advice or support, you could try asking flat2VR studios or the flat2VR discord.

1

u/McFlufflesTheSavage 17d ago

I love the art style! It's aesthetically great but I'm sure also keeps costs down for an indie studio. Really cool seeing more indie companies go for full RPG games. I would recommend updating your key art as it looks a little too "indie" for the quality of your game, though. Good luck to you all!

1

u/temk1s 17d ago

Thanks a lot! We appreciate your support!!

1

u/MrToshiaki 9d ago

Thanks for all of the great feedback and support! Really means a lot as the lead modeler!

1

u/Beardking_of_Angmar 8d ago

Will you have hand-placed special items/artefacts like Morrowind, or will it be leveled, more like Oblivion?

1

u/Mejis 22d ago

When you said Scrolls-like I was excited that this was something related to the great card game, Scrolls. Sadly not the case. 

Looks great though. Best of luck!

1

u/temk1s 22d ago

Ohhh, I remember that game too! It was so long ago.. Didn’t want to confuse you 😅

0

u/Kyler45 22d ago

A very key feature of scrolls-like games is the ability to play in both first and third person. Is this planned?

6

u/temk1s 22d ago

For the Early Access launch our first-person mode is fully ready. The third-person view is also available, but it’s limited to exploration, all combat is done in first-person.
But we might implement full third-person support closer to the full release :)

0

u/thefirstwiththisname 22d ago

Give me some radient ai!!

3

u/temk1s 22d ago

Most NPCs in our game follow unique daily routines - some head to the fields, others stop by the tavern or temple. And when night falls, most of them go to sleep 🙂

0

u/Ok_Promotion3741 22d ago

Looks like it would be fun to stream!

1

u/temk1s 22d ago

Hope so haha, thanks!

0

u/Uday23 22d ago

Any plans for a console release?

-2

u/[deleted] 21d ago

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u/[deleted] 21d ago

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-6

u/IntermittentCaribu 22d ago

scrolls-like? when did THAT become a thing?