Temtem veterans are working on a Breath of the Wild-inspired narrative survival game for 1-4 players, set to arrive later this year

Oppidum | Detailed Gameplay Revealed | Co-op Fantasy Adventure – YouTube

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If you’re looking for something a bit Zelda-like in your life, Oppidum might be worth a look: it’s a “narrative adventure with survival elements” for 1-4 players inspired by Breath of the Wild developed by EP Games, a team that includes former members of Temtem developer Crema, and is slated for release later this year.

Oppidum is set in the land of Insule, “a world hanging by a thread” that expects you to save it from a “powerful entity that emerges from beyond.” How you go about it is up to you: exploration, harvesting, crafting, and combat are all on the menu, to be tested as you wish, solo or in co-op. Developer EP Games promises “an immersive and inclusive gaming experience to suit every player’s tastes.”

The new game appears to be taking an Enshrouded-style approach to the survival genre. Instead of plunging players into a hostile world with a simple goal – survive – Oppidum is focusing on the narrative side, which will include “a main story, side quests, environmental storytelling, and a diverse cast of supporting characters.”

At the same time, the player freedom typical of most survival games is still in place: players can “explore an open world at their leisure, progress at their own pace, and discover all the secrets we have hidden throughout Insule.”

That’s a lot to promise, but the new gameplay trailer looks pretty good, and Oppidum has already held a handful of playtests and shared a demo during Steam Next Fest in February. And this isn’t EP Games’ first rodeo, either: CEO, lead programmer, and narrative designer Daniel Barba served as technical director on Temtem, while art director and technical artist Adrián Andrés was art lead on this game. The studio’s previous releases include Queendoom and A Gummy’s Life, both of which have been well-received despite not drawing huge numbers of players.

An oppidum, by the way, is a large fortified settlement or city commonly associated with the Celtic people of the 1st and 2nd centuries BC; they served as economic centers, political hubs, and seats of authority for the surrounding region. I’m not sure that’s a good title (anyone who knows what an oppidum is without consulting Wikipedia will almost certainly assume that this new game is some sort of Total War spin-off), but it makes sense in the context of the game. As part of your effort to say Insule, you’ll build and expand a camp using resources and plans discovered throughout the game – a little oppidum of your own.

Oppidum doesn’t have a release date yet, but it’s now wishlisted on Steam and is expected to release sometime in 2024.