1428: Shadows over Silesia

Lore & Background

1428: Shadows Over Silesia was announced on 18 February 2020 after leaving pre-production. Due to lack of finances, the developers launched a crowdfunding campaign on the HitHit platform on 7 September 2021, seeking 500,000 CZK. The campaign successfully concluded on 7 October 2021, having gathered 606,670 CZK. A demo was released on 7 February 2022, with the release date initially set for late Summer 2022. On 21 March 2022, developers announced the game would be fully blind accessible, achieved by working with blind programmer Lukáš Hosnedl. Features include navigational sonar and recitation of written texts. The release date was later set for 6 September 2022 but delayed to 4 October 2022, when the game launched on Steam. Xzone released a physical copy.

Reader's Guide

The game's significance lies in its pioneering accessibility for blind players, achieved through collaboration with a blind programmer and features like navigational sonar and text recitation. It is the first Czech video game to achieve full blind accessibility, setting a precedent for inclusive game design in the region. Set during the 1428 Hussite campaign in Silesia, the story follows Hussite Hauptmann Hynek and Knight Hospitaller Lothar, exploring whether they will remain enemies or unite against a greater threat. Gameplay spans 13 chapters, blending adventure, stealth, and action with tactical swordplay emphasizing realism. Players must defend, time strikes, use advantageous positions when outnumbered, and often rely on stealth. Adventure elements include gathering objects, solving logical puzzles, and deciphering ciphers in a minigame, alongside a dice minigame. The game won the Czech Game of the Year award at the 2022 Czech Game of the Year Awards, cementing its legacy as a landmark title in Czech game development.

Did You Know?

• The game was crowdfunded on the HitHit platform, raising 606,670 CZK against a goal of 500,000 CZK.
• Blind programmer Lukáš Hosnedl collaborated with KUBI Games to implement full blind accessibility.
• The game includes a navigational sonar and recitation of written texts for blind players.

The Road to Release

KUBI Games first revealed 1428: Shadows over Silesia on 18 February 2020, marking the project's exit from its pre-production stage. However, the path to a full launch was far from smooth. Financial constraints forced the small team to turn to the community, and on 7 September 2021 they launched a crowdfunding drive on the HitHit platform with a target of 500,000 CZK. The campaign closed on 7 October 2021 having raised 606,670 CZK, exceeding its goal and giving the developers the breathing room they needed. A playable demo followed on 7 February 2022, and the team initially aimed for a late-summer 2022 window. That target slipped to 6 September, and then once more to 4 October 2022, when the title finally went live on Steam. For players who prefer a tangible product, Xzone stepped in to publish a physical copy. The effort was recognized at home: at the 2022 Czech Game of the Year Awards, the title took home the top prize for Czech game of the year.

A First for Czech Gaming: Full Blind Accessibility

One of the most remarkable achievements of 1428: Shadows over Silesia is its status as the first Czech video game to be fully accessible to blind players. KUBI Games made this commitment public on 21 March 2022, and the work behind it was deeply collaborative. The studio partnered with blind programmer Lukáš Hosnedl throughout development, ensuring that accessibility was not an afterthought but a core design pillar. The game incorporates a navigational sonar system that gives blind players an audio-based sense of spatial orientation, effectively letting them hear their surroundings the way sighted players see them. Additionally, all written text encountered in the game is recited aloud, so no passage, document, or lore entry is locked behind a visual-only format. Together, these systems allow a blind player to experience the full narrative, solve puzzles, and navigate combat on equal footing with sighted players.

Genre-Blending Combat and Exploration

Across its thirteen chapters, 1428: Shadows over Silesia weaves together adventure, stealth, and sword-based action into a single linear experience. The player alternates between Hussite Hauptmann Hynek and Knight Hospitaller Lothar, each bringing a distinct perspective to the unfolding story. Combat is deliberately tactical and grounded in realism: rather than mowing through waves of enemies, the player must guard, time strikes precisely, and exploit advantageous positions when outnumbered. Stealth frequently becomes the wiser option, pushing the player to flank and avoid direct confrontation. Between battles, the game shifts into adventure mode, requiring the collection of specific objects like keys and the solving of logical puzzles to progress. Scattered throughout the journey are lore texts that deepen the world's history, some of which are encoded in cipher and must be cracked through a dedicated logical minigame. A dice minigame adds further variety to the interactive toolkit.

A Tale of Two Rivals in Wartime Silesia

The narrative of 1428: Shadows over Silesia is set during the 1428 Hussite campaign in Silesia, grounding its dark fantasy action-adventure in a specific historical moment. Rather than presenting a single hero's journey, the story unfolds through the dual perspectives of Hussite Hauptmann Hynek and Knight Hospitaller Lothar, two men whose allegiances place them squarely on opposite sides of the conflict. The central dramatic tension is deceptively simple: will these two adversaries remain locked in enmity, or will a bigger, more pressing threat compel them to join forces? This question gives the game a moral and emotional complexity that elevates it beyond a straightforward action narrative. The dark fantasy tone, layered over the historical Hussite backdrop, creates a world where loyalty, faith, and survival are perpetually in conflict. Across its thirteen chapters, the player experiences this tension from both sides, watching as the relationship between Hynek and Lothar evolves under pressure.