Laps Games revealed today at IGN’s Fan Fest that its sandbox survival RPG, Valorborn, launches in early access on Steam on April 15. This version of the game will contain a microcosm of the overall experience, and Laps plans to expand it in respond to player feedback with new content and improvements until its full release.
Valorborn is set in a medieval fantasy world that exists around the players, with autonomous NPCs, in-game factions and enemies, and fully explorable towns and environments. Players can choose their own story to live out, with the full release including potential origins across multiple kingdoms with different career paths.
One twist on Valorborn’s gameplay is permadeath: Player characters can die for good, though Laps says that the gameplay loop rewards risk and experimentation, with each death adding to a player’s in-game story. According to the developers, support for its previous game, city-builder Land of the Vikings, allowed them to create this more expansive title.
Onurhan Akçay, founder of Laps Games, said, “Valorborn is an ambitious project for us, and it was made possible by the support we received for Land of the Vikings. That support gave us the foundation to build something bigger and more systemic. With Valorborn, we wanted to create a world where players can truly choose their own path and write their own stories.”