Return to Castlerama, an atmospheric adventure game of ancient rivalries set against spectacular scenery, is being developed for release on iOS platforms by the independent Italian studio Codenrama.
Codenrama was founded by the renowned fine artist Michele Böhm, hence the eerily beautiful environments in which you play the game. Böhm, who has exhibited throughout Italy and Europe over the last 33 years, and taught in Milan and at the University of Rome, has always been passionate about the potential of bringing computer technology and art together. His background – his mother is a talented painter and his father is the prominent computer scientist Corrado Böhm - has almost certainly contributed to this.
Return To Castlerama mixes narrative elements of the supernatural, with family intrigue, and features a number of different playing styles to complete.
The player is cast as David, a young man seeking to save his village Castlerama, and the surrounding Gorendal Valley, from the curse of the evil Artaserses. As well as exploring the neighbourhood and the lush environs of the valley, David will also encounter zombies, a dragon, and other fantastical monsters.
Along the way there are eye-catching ‘tarot’ cards to be collected which form an integral part of the end-game.
The game follows the release in May 2011 of the demo, entitled simply Castlerama, which became a viral success internationally, with over 300,000 downloads. Böhm, together with graphic artist and game designer Francesco Palenga, used the demo’s inspiration of a journey made through the beautiful landscape of Assisi to develop the themes and style of the full game.
Return to Castlerama has been designed for the iPad and iPhone, and also plays superbly on iPod Touch 5th generation. As well as the beautifully crafted graphics, it features a mesmerising soundtrack composed by Fernando Fera and Leandro Piccioni.
Return to Castlerama will be available from June 20 in the App Store.
