Artefacts Studio and New Tales announced today's release of Terrinoth: Heroes of Descent, the first video game adaptation of the Descent universe from Fantasy Flight Games.
You can check out the launch trailer below:
You can read below for the full press release:
Since its demo was released last February, the game has generated a lot of excitement among players. On Steam, the demo has garnered over 87% positive reviews, highlighting the quality of the indie tactical RPG developed by the teams at Artefacts Studio. Longtime Descent fans have praised the game’s faithful recreation of the board game’s spirit, while new players have been drawn to its accessible gameplay and cooperative ambition.
Terrinoth: Heroes of Descent plunges players into the troubled lands of Terrinoth, one year before the events of Descent: Legends of the Dark.
Whereas the demo only allowed players to explore the Crypts of Aerendor in single-player mode, Terrinoth®: Heroes of Descent now offers access to the full adventure with a complete narrative campaign spanning 4 chapters, designed for both one-hour sessions and long evenings of cooperative play.
As they progress, players will be able to explore 20 dungeons with varied environments, punctuated by dynamic dialogues that evolve based on the group’s composition and the heroes chosen. The adventure also features full English voice acting, brought to life by, among others, Samantha Béart, who joins the cast designed to bring the heroes and iconic figures of Terrinoth to life.
The game offers 8 playable heroes, inspired by heroic fantasy archetypes, each with their own story, unique skills, and a distinct combat style.
Combat plays a central role in the experience, with a tactical system designed to be easy to pick up while leaving plenty of room for strategy and coordination among players. Each hero can combine their abilities with those of their allies to trigger synergies, encouraging players to coordinate their actions throughout battles.
Throughout the adventure, groups will also face imposing bosses and iconic creatures of Terrinoth in demanding tactical battles, where positioning, use of the terrain, and management of special abilities will often make the difference between victory and defeat.
Playable online with up to 4 players and the option to join a game in progress, the experience was designed to recapture the strategic intensity of epic tabletop sessions through turn-based battles.
For Artefacts Studio, the Lyon-based studio behind The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet of Chaos, Terrinoth®: Heroes of Descent represents the culmination of an ambitious creative challenge: adapting the Descent universe into a tactical RPG for the first time, without losing the identity that made the board game a success.
“As longtime fans ourselves, it was a huge challenge to adapt the license in a way that stayed true to the essence of Terrinoth while still offering our own interpretation of it,” explains Bruno Chabanel, CEO of Artefacts Studio. “We wanted to capture the unique atmosphere and accessibility of Descent’s universe, and naturally translate them into a true video game experience without ever losing the soul of the original board game.”
New Tales supported the project to bring this adaptation to its global launch. “The feedback we received on the demo confirmed the game’s potential and players’ attachment to the Descent universe,” says Cédric Maréchal, CEO of New Tales. “Today, we are very happy to finally be able to deliver the full experience and allow players to discover this new way of exploring Terrinoth, either alone or with friends.”
For Asmodee and Fantasy Flight Games, Terrinoth®: Heroes of Descent also marks an important milestone: despite the popularity of the Terrinoth universe, it had never before been adapted into a tactical RPG.
“Seeing the Descent universe come to life in a full-fledged video game experience has been a long-standing request from fans,” notes Bill Altig, VP of Narrative Games at Asmodee. “Artefacts Studio has managed to stay true to the original spirit while delivering a stunning cinematic presentation.”
Terrinoth®: Heroes of Descent is available today on PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S for $34.99/€34.99.
