Mighty Koi has been developing their debut games, The Night Wanderer and Thorgal, inspired by Polish Literature. Thorgal takes inspiration from the comic book series of the same name written by Belgian writer Jean Van Hamme and illustrated by Polish graphic artist Grzegorz Rosiński. The series first debuted in 1977 and is still going strong to this day and has garnered a dedicated fanbase spanning decades. We sat down with them today to get an exclusive look into the upcoming game and what we can expect.
Both games are being developed using the Unreal Engine 5, which has been gaining popularity among developers and gamers alike. Mighty Koi said, that it was the obvious choice for the kind of games they want to make.
While The Night Wanderer, Mighty Koi’s other game, is set to be soulslike “with a twist”, Thorgal takes on the more traditional action-adventure approach. It is set in the world created by the comic books and adds a bit of Norse Mythology into the mix. The developers promise an intense journey charged with emotions and moral tests that will touch players deeply.
Thorgal is set to be an action adventure game in the world of Thorgal with additional inspirations from Norse mythology. We aim to create an intense emotional journey that will test Thorgal’s character and in particular challenge his moral values – because who knows how far one can go when you touch his family? Think about the thrill of adventure of Crystal Dynamics’ Tomb Raider with the depth and story of a Plague Tale – all paying homage to Thorgal’s rich lore and gallery of memorable characters.
Thorgal has a unique combat system that prioritizes nonlethal solutions to players’ problems in the game. The main character uses a bow with great skill, but he is also said to have more tools. He never kills unless he has no other option, so players must be creative. They will also have the chance to use powers shown in the comics that Thorgal gets from his lineage. Mighty Koi said:
While this is early to say, Thorgal’s trademark is his outstanding talent with the bow – so you can expect it to be his choice weapon…and more. That said, Thorgal never kills unless he has absolutely no other choice (that should inform you about the combat style we aim for). Another trademark of the franchise is the powers that some of Thorgal’s family members inherited from their lineage – so we are not excluding a dash of extraordinary powers added to the mix.
This leads to the question of how many RPG elements the developers will incorporate into the game. Things like upgradeable weapons, tools, and gears are quite common, even in games that aren’t explicitly labeled as RPGs. While Thorgal is labeled as an action-adventure title, they did mention some degree of upgradeable gear and other light RPG elements. Mighty Koi clarified:
We intend to go for a light RPG allowing some sense of progression for the gear, tools and weapons but it is not the prime focus of the game.
As far as the world of Thorgal is concerned, Mighty Koi said they will be adding several iconic locations from the franchise and a few more. They went on to say they were adding a few locations inspired by Norse Mythology. However, it was too early to say anything about the map size and whether or not the game would be open-world. The developers said:
While this is really early to say, the game will take you through multiple iconic locations of the franchise as well as through some mythical environments of Norse mythology.
As the game is set in the Thorgal universe, fans of the series speculate the game would follow events shown in the comics. But that is not the case. While the setting is the same, the story is an original one that explores a unique perspective of the main character and features other iconic characters of the series. The game attempts to modernize the story’s themes while being faithful to the source material. In the words of Mighty Koi:
The game will propose an original story set in the Thorgal Universe. Our goal is to explore unseen aspects of the hero character and some of the other series’ iconic characters – modernizing the themes to bring it to a new audience – while staying true to the original comic books.
This leads us to how all that takes into player choices. Since the story is original, it gives the developers more freedom to incorporate player agency. How they build their character, the decisions they make while overcoming challenges, and more can have lasting implications on the story and the experience they get. While Mighty Koi said it is too early to discuss this in detail, they did confirm that player choices will shape the overall experience. The developers said:
We cannot reveal too much at this point – but we can definitely assert that the player’s choices will have a huge impact on the experience and will basically determine how the world reacts to Thorgal – offering different opportunities or taking away some options according to the playstyle.
As mentioned before, Thorgal will feature some Norse themes in the game, mainly mythological elements. Mighty Koi said they will only add things that fit in what is shown in the comic books. So, players looking to explore Norse Runes, build structure, or use Viking tactics will be disappointed. They said:
On that matter, we intend to stick with what can be found in the comic books and have no plan to have outstanding features to build structures for example.
Players won’t also get to find and tame different animals throughout their journey. This includes both steeds and any other ferocious beasts. So walking is the way forward. The developers said it was not currently in the game’s scope. The world is massive and richly populated, with multiple factions and NPCs taken from comic books. There are tons of secrets to find and plenty of side activities to do for those with a knack for exploring. Mighty Koi clarified:
One of the game’s core promises is to bring the world of Thorgal to life – so we intend to have a richly populated world, with multiple factions and NPCs inspired by the comic book whom players may choose to help or not. Every map will be built to hold secrets, a core mystery which players who take the time to explore will be able to solve (and be rewarded for). Beyond the main quest, each location will have a life and story of its own.
Like The Night Wanderer, Thorgal will also be released on the PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and S. Although there are no plans for a Switch release, Mighty Koi expressed willingness to release the games on as many platforms as possible.
