Dragon Age writer David Gaider and Pillars of Eternity designer Liam Esler team up for Chorus: An Adventure Musical.
Legendary voice actors Troy Baker and Laura Bailey are on board, as well as Journey composer Austin Wintory. I’ll let them introduce the game.
Chorus: A Musical Adventure is Summerfall Studios’ debut game, and currently looking for funding via Fig.
The game tells the story of Grace, a musician who inherits the powers of Calliope – a Muse of Greek Myth, the band’s lead singer, and the victim of a murder most foul. Now, Grace has to navigate the courthouse of the gods, prove her innocence, and find how who really killed Calliope.
With the power of a Muse, you can draw other characters into song, and manipulate them with the melody. They might change their mind, confess to a crime, or even fall in love. You choose which direction to take.
The options available to you stem from one of three traits: Kickass, Clever, and Charming. You’ll choose one trait at the beginning of the game, and then upgrade it or add others as you progress. Your traits and their level open up different paths, so each combination offers a unique playthrough.
Each character you draw into song has an affinity for a particular trait. If you can figure which one, you can use it to gain the upper hand during a song. Above, we can see a short gameplay video of Grace encountering the mythical Minotaur, and “dueling” using the Kickass trait.
But you don’t have to have a particular trait to overcome a specific challenge or get an NPC to help you. If you do a little recon, you might be able to solve a situation in a different way. For example, the god Pan is susceptible to Charm, but if you’re Clever enough, you can resort to a little blackmail to get what you need.
David Gaider has experience with writing complex characters and relationships from his days at BioWare and plans to use it when writing Chorus. You can flirt, fall in love and even (gasp) sing with two potential love interests. Summerfall Studios teases more possible companions if the crowdfunding campaign goes well.
Gaider isn’t working on Chorus alone. Australian developer Liam Esler worked at Obsidian on games such as Pillars of Eternity and Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear. Grace is voiced by Laura Bailey (Gears 5, Uncharted 4), and Troy Baker (BioShock Infinite, The Last of Us) also lends his talented voice. Benjamin Ee is handling art direction.
There’s no official release, but depending on the Fig campaign’s success, Chorus can potentially hit PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and iOS.
Some of our posts include links to online retail stores. We get a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Don't worry, it doesn't cost you anything extra.
