Earthlock

Did You Know?

• The game was inspired by early Square Japanese role-playing games, though Snowcastle wanted to subvert common genre character stereotypes.
• The Xbox One version launched on September 1, 2016 worldwide.

Gameplay

Earthlock is a non-linear role-playing game with turn-based battles. Characters fight in pairs: a warrior who uses consumable items like ammunition, and a protector who performs spells such as healing and shields. Taking damage from enemies generates support points, which unlock additional moves. Pairing different character combinations changes available tactics and affects battle flow.

Plot

The story takes place on the world of Umbra, where a cataclysmic event stopped the planet from spinning, leaving one side scorched by constant sunlight and the other perpetually cold, with a habitable strip in between. Much of the past advanced civilization was buried, and society rebuilt in the livable zone. The adventurer Amon scavenges ruins and becomes entangled in a conflict with the ruling Suvian Empire.

Development

Snowcastle Games began work on this title in 2011, releasing a pre-alpha trailer two years later in May 2013. At that point, it was known only as Festival of Magic. The team turned to Kickstarter in November 2013, asking for $250,000, but withdrew the campaign after it got buried during the holiday season. A second Kickstarter launched in March 2014 with a reduced goal of $150,000, ultimately raising $178,000 that April. Comic book writer Magnus Aspli handled the story. A concept demo arrived in March 2014 for Windows, OS X, and Linux. Snowcastle partnered with Cross Function to bring the game to Japan. Despite the Wii U losing momentum after the Nintendo Switch was announced, Snowcastle kept its promise of a Wii U port, which a third-party studio handled and released digitally in September 2017. The initial version received poor reviews, prompting a major overhaul. That reworked edition, simply called Earthlock, came out in 2018 for Linux, macOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Legacy

A more casual spin-off, Ikonei Island: An Earthlock Adventure, was released as a single-player or co-op adventure and crafting game, initially for PC in November 2023 and later for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in March 2024. A sequel, Earthlock 2, was announced in 2020 with a planned 2022 release but was delayed several times; it was re-revealed in 2024, featuring a plot about exploring the Desert of Kor with a Desert Ship. An additional game is reportedly planned due to a deal between Snowcastle Games and Jagex.