Heard of the Story?
Release date: Sep 14, 2023
Developers: Shasaur
Publishers: Shasaur
Genres: Casual, Indie, Simulation, Early Access
Categories: Single-player, Partial Controller Support, Family Sharing
Supported languages: English

Heard of the Story? is a cosy medieval city-building simulation game with intelligent AI villagers who think, reason, and tell their own unique tales. The game is about forging your own medieval town, community, and relationships with procedural characters that really feel alive, self-aware, and grounded in your world. Embark on an adventure with them to transform a few sticks and pebbles into a beautiful prospering town from the ground up. Alternatively, simple sit back and watch as your townsfolk discover their passions, spread rumours, or divulge captivating stories with you and between each other. Explore the landscape to find and gather the resources you need in order to build your town. Craft your way up to an expert, perhaps you can be their blacksmith? Develop a town organically by architecting your roads or structures without a grid. Beautify the surroundings with decorations whilst your villagers spice up their gardens. Each building changes the life of your villagers one step at a time. Could the Lion & Crow be your friend's next favourite tavern? Or the Chiselled Bellows the smithy they discover themselves in? Strengthen your reputation by constructing the right amenities, enough fields and accommodation, and entice foreigners to join - grow without a limit!  Villagers are autonomous and independent. Apart from starting new construction projects, they can do anything you can. Each has their own interests, goals, achievements, needs, and traits. Talk to villagers to discover their lore, (sometimes) get helpful advice, or learn about their conspiracy theories. Your learnings are jotted down in your journal as you uncover more.  Each interaction they have with the world forms an experience which shapes their personality. Reveal how they changed and evolved through listening to their quirky stories. Deepen the mutual bond by helping them with their troubles. Or don't, and tell them they look ugly instead - we won't judge! (but villagers may)  Cooperate with your townsfolk as they help construct new buildings or trade with them to get the items you need. Watch villagers specialise into different skilled crafts like carpentry or horticulture. Unlock your society's potential by making sure they have all the tools they need to prosper. When your collective skills don't cut it, merchants and markets can assist you by bringing what you need - at a price. Be careful not to blow your savings on luxurious goods!  Just like you, villagers can talk to each other, build their own relationships (or start their own beef), and make their own exchanges. As they pass on information, they form an emergent interconnected team.  Each map is randomly generated making every playthrough even more unique. Whether you want to build in a valley or a flatland, in a forest or the mountains, the choice is yours!  Find cute, scottish-highland inspired cows loitering around different corners and draw them into your barns to tame them.  World details are also unique to each world, with each having its own regions, towns, family histories. Perhaps you’ll find your rival's sibling joining you as you expand the town.  As time passes, the sun will rise, the stars will show, and the seasons will change. Witness colours and atmosphere shift around you as spring gradually gives way to winter. Keep warm with a fireplace during winter, or find a colourful place to frolic amidst long grass and arrays of countless flowers during summer. This game is designed to be cosy and stress-free; there are no timed tasks, no harsh penalties, and no combat putting your town at risk. You can challenge yourself to grow a huge town, or play at your own pace and stick to a small cottagecore village, with a few friendly faces.