Karmaflow: The Rock Opera Videogame Act I has been released on Steam. Act II is due out in April, and will be a free download for those who purchased Act I. A digital soundtrack will be available through Steam at that time as well.
What started as a student project by Ivo van Dijk in 2013 has grown into a full-scale production by indie startup studio Basecamp Games. With the scope of the game expanding during development, the game was split into two Acts to meet the original release window. Initially, there were some bugs that plagued the launch, but a new patch has been released that fixes many of the major problems and they’re still working on others. They celebrated the release of Act I with Karmaflow in Concert: A Rock Opera–a full-costumed live concert performance in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, which was sold out. There are some cool photos of the show on their Facebook page.
Karmaflow features a cast of internationally-known rock and metal singers and musicians. The cast of each act breaks down as follows:
– Act I with Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy), Charlotte Wessels (Delain), Mark Jansen (Epica, MaYaN), Lindsay Schoolcraft (Cradle of Filth), Marc Hudson (DragonForce), Lisette van den Berg (Scarlet Stories) and Bas Dolmans (ex-Xystus).
– Act II with Simone Simons (Epica), Dani Filth (Cradle of Filth), Mariangela Demurtas (Tristania), Daniël de Jongh (Textures), Henning Basse (MaYaN, Rage), Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica) and Elize Ryd (Amaranthe).
The score is performed by the Metropole Orkest (NL) – world’s biggest professional pop and jazz orchestra – and band members of among others After Forever, Epica, Textures and Within Temptation.
Karmaflow is a puzzle-platformer, where you play as the Karmakeeper whose job it is to restore balance in the world by extracting karma from certain objects and infusing it into others. The game’s main feature is that instead of a narrator or on-screen text, the story is sung to you by the characters you encounter, creating a true rock opera feel. I had a chance to play this game last year at PAX East and it had a certain Journey-like feel to it, with a bit of Zelda thrown in as well. You can read my full impressions piece for more on what I thought of the game.
There are currently two packages available for sale on Steam. The standard one will give you Act I now, followed by Act II and the soundtrack in April. The Deluxe Edition will give you Act I, followed by Act II, an extended soundtrack with bonus tracks, a “making of” video with exclusive video from the concert, and five PDF files featuring concept art from the game. It’s available for PC only, with a Mac version coming soon.
Did you pick this game up? Do you plan to? Does this sound interesting at all? Let me know what you think in the comments below.
