In January, 80Days Studio's Inkle announced its next project with seven words and a cryptic warning that "Camelot has fallen." Sounds very King Arthurian, and it is: the studio announced today that its new game is Pendragon. The game is a retelling of the legend of the Round Table, staged by actions and outcomes on a randomized game board.

The game begins in AD 673, when Camelot has fallen and the Round Table has collapsed due to Lord Mordred's deception. You choose a character with a personality that helps direct the course of the story, such as the treacherous Morgana le Fay, the drunken Sir Gawain, or the Frenchman Sir Lancelot, and assemble a band of heroes, knights, and nobles to fight by Arthur Pendragon's side in the final battle at Camlann. Goals.

Every time you play, a different turn of events awaits you. The game board is randomized, and the story changes depending on the path you take across the map, the choices you and your enemies make, and whether you win or lose the battle. But it's not just an epic choose-your-own-adventure: Inkel also emphasizes the central role of combat, fought in "turn-based battles with simple yet deeply strategic combat where position is everything, defeat is inevitable, and every step you take shapes the story forever."

Inkle states that Pendragon is "the next evolutionary step in strategic narrative games," and if it lives up to that promise, it will be truly impressive: the studio's previous titles, "Sorcery! 80 Days," and "Heaven's Vault" were all excellent, and Pendragon is available on Steam (currently available for pre-order) and will be released this summer. Screens are as follows.