Previews// Secret Legend

Posted 26 Sep 2016 14:33 by
Some time ago I stumbled upon a tweet from Andrew Shouldice that was a gif of a little fox holding a sword that walked out of some bushes, waved and then went back into the bushes. I was mesmerised by it, watching the animation over and over. This little fox in his isometric world that was so wonderfully portrayed was unlike anything I had seen before and I wanted to know more.

Eventually the memory of that sword-wielding fox faded until I stumbled upon Secret Legend's booth at PAX West 2016, and my memories of that little fox flooded back to me. This time, however, I was no longer staring at an amazing animation but instead a full blown demo that I could actually play!

After settling into the beanbag and pointing myself at the monitor I found myself drawn into the world of the nameless fox. He walked around a world that was rendered using foreground softening techniques that provide a sense of depth where normally there would be none. The models have a low polygonal count and are fluidly animated, with every bush and piece of bric-a-brac that is found in the world moving and rustling whenever the fox or anything else ran through it.

Secret Legend is at its core a Zelda-like action adventure game in that the player collects items that can be used as tools to interact with the world. These tools provide means to gain access to areas that were previously blocked off and hints at the presence of such areas litter the world of Secret Legends.

During my short play-through I experienced these mechanics that are familiar mainstays of action adventure games. What makes Secret Legends stand out is the sensory feedback it gives to the player as they make their way through the world.

The animation, sound and overall presentation of Secret Legend seem to indicate the core design philosophy of respecting the player and their ability to ascertain what they have to do without being spoon fed information via reams of text or an extensive tutorial. This is even more evidenced thanks to an initially indecipherable language that is present
in Secret Legend which needs to be decoded as the player explores deeper and deeper into the realm they find themselves in.

Very little is known about Secret Legend in terms of its projected release date or even formats it is appearing on, but whenever that is I shall certainly be first in the queue to buy a copy.

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