Once in a while, a piece of news comes along that puts you on high alert, and seeing the announcement from Gamescom that Revolution Software is producing a new entry in the Broken Sword series made my eyes bulge. Along with Broken Sword Parzival’s Stone, Revolution is also bringing out a remaster of the original.
For those who haven’t dove into the frankly superb series, Shadow of the Templars Reforged drags the original entry into the modern era with 4K visuals and enhanced audio. You will follow protagonists George and Nico on their journey, starting in the sewers of Paris and globetrotting to exotic locations to discover the truth behind the Knights Templar. You can also tackle the iconic goat puzzle, which was an absolute beauty in the 1996 title.
The highlight of this announcement is, of course, the new chapter, Parzival’s Stone. George and Nico will reunite to investigate an ancient manuscript, and find themselves embroiled in yet another conspiracy, with Nazi treasure hunters, ancient medieval history, and Quantum Physics all showing up in quite the heady mix.
You will find yourself up against rival technology entrepreneurs, corrupt government agencies, and billion-dollar global energy corporations, all of whom want to get their hands on your manuscript to find the ultimate treasure; the location of the Grail. Enjoying this new journey will be easy thanks to the Super 2D environment, which applies coloured background elements to 3D geometry to move in real time.
Parzival’s Stone, much like all earlier entries, is a self-contained story, so even if you haven’t played the whole saga you can enjoy it. You would be missing out however on all the world-building and character development. If you need any more convincing as to how beloved the series is, just look at the fifth instalment, which almost doubled its 400,000.00 Kickstarter goal for development. If you are interested in a puzzling and gripping series, Broken Sword should be your first call.
Broken Sword Shadow of the Templars Reforged will be available on mobile in early 2024, with Parzival’s Stone following at an undisclosed date.
