Cradle is an open-world RPG in development by Mojo Game Studios to be released in the summer of 2016. Right now there is a Kickstarter campaign going on to fund the project. The game features five beautifully crafted worlds and an amazing story. If you look at all the concept art that’s already out there, you know this game is going to be gorgeous.
Story
In Cradle you play as an exiled traveler who is caught in a thousand year old war between gods. A thousand years ago five gods of Anora defeated one of their own, the god of free will, Aderyn. He and his cradle were erased from the world. The cradle, once the technological and cultural center of Anora, stands empty with its few inhabitants deprived of their sanity. In the beginning of the game, you are on the run from the god of hunger, Ostia, and hide in one of the last old and abandoned shrines of Anderyn. You have to help him return the cradle to Anora. Only a handful of the people living there are still sane enough to aid you in your quest.
World of Anora
There are four different areas in Cradle and one land that connects them. This in-between land is called Titanwood and it is where the story starts, at one of the shrines of Aderyn. The shrine of Aderyn looks amazing in the concept art, but the screenshots of the shrine in Titanwood are even better. The flowers and lights make everything come to life to make it into a place full of magic and mystery.
Now, let’s take a look at the four worlds that Titanwood connects. There’s Bayou, a port city, which turned into a massive swamp. It used to be the center of trade and culture, but now there is nothing but mud lands filled with mushrooms and strange plants. Some kind of ash rains down from the sky and covers everything in a dull grey color covering up every little bit of the colorful history of the place.
Then there are the Icelands, which are rather peculiar. The Icelands lay high up in the snow covered mountains housing strange cities in between, but there are also hot gushing pools of lava and monstrous enemies. The city build in the mountains reminds of the dwarven built city of Erebor from the film The Hobbit.
The third land called Quarry is forestry and damp place full of ruined man-made structures. Time has again taken its toll, but parts of the buildings are rebuilt with wooden constructions. Everything is overgrown by moss and plants. Nature is winning over man.
The last land is the Desert. Full of sand and inspired by eastern lands, this place is one of sensuality and mystery. From the concept art it seems that the cities here are the best preserved in all of the four lands. There are wind chimes and vases everywhere and although the city looks worn out, there still could be people living there, long forgotten by the gods of Anora.
The concept art of Cradle shows a forgotten world where the gods have left their people to die. It is no wonder that the humans still living there are corrupted shadows of what they once were. When this game comes out, I would love to help Aderyn bring his Cradle and free will back to the lands of Anora, and make everything even more beautiful than it already is.