Summary
The venn diagram of cats, death metal, and soulslikes is certainly a fascinating space to explore, but imagining what lies at its dead center will soon get easier, as indie devAstral Clocktower Studiosprepares to releaseKristala, its upcomingSekiro-inspired action RPG that follows a feral cat warrior.
The player will step into the role of a Raksakkar, who stands as the most powerful warrior of their generation and aims to gain the blessings of crystals and join the ranks of the Raksaka. Each of the six magical clans has sent out initiates like the player to seek the same blessing when the typically peaceful pilgrimage goes awry.So far, soFinal Fantasy, but whereKristalasets itself apart isn’t just in its Soulsian nature. It’s also in its tone, borrowed heavily from death metal, which was recently discussed by Astral Clocktower’s founder, Alexis Brutman, in an interview with Game Rant.
High-Flying Feline Action
Brutman said that the many elements on which the game’s world is built actually came together rather nicely, despite her early concerns. The idea for the game came together while brainstorming with business partner Tiffany Gomez, both of whom are former veterinary professionals.
We were bouncing ideas off of what kind of each other about what kind of game we wanted to make: my idea was a soulslike kind of idea, her idea was acutesy adventure game about a cat. So we thought, okay, [the cat game] makes the most sense. Let’s do that. Then instead, we did a hybrid of the two games, and made a cat soulslike … I’ve been rescuing cats for probably the past 20 years now. So it kind of made sense that I made a cat game.
A cat soulslike actually had a lot of potential to bring something different to the genre, explained Brutman. Cats are both stealthy and agile, which opens the formula of the genre to more traversal mechanics. Being an Anagativa, the game’s sapient cat species, means the player can swing on branches, leap, vault, climb, and perform surprise attacks pouncing enemies from above.
These traversal mechanics and parkour elements help form the unique feline identity ofKristala. Thefocus on stealth in particularis something that’s been elusive in FromSoftware’s literally genre-defining series of games, lettingKristalaveer closer toNiohorSekirothan toDark SoulsorElden Ring. Where stealth becomes burdensome and not overly effective in most FromSoftware games, in Kristala’s case, it feeds into a feeling of grace and agility that the game’s design emphasizes. Still, that isn’t the only blend of themes and ideas that is exemplified byKristala.
Brutman describes herself as a metalhead. To her, the idea of basing the feeling of Kristala on death metal was a no-brainer. She even recruited deathcore vocalists to provide some of the game’s voice work, from an angry fish boss named Lophi the Lost voiced by Brojob’s Paxton Grizzle to undead wails provided by Will Ramos from Lorna Shore and Kasey Karlsen of Deadands.
It isn’t likeKristalais the first game touse metal vocalists as voice actors, andKristaladoes also include traditional game vocal talent. But for Brutman, the fact that this particular use of metal vocalists is still novel is a surprise to her. It just makes sense, she says though she did have some trepidation about approaching metal performers to lend voices to a game that is, at the end of the day, about magic cats. However, the response to both her approach and to the Raksakkar’s journey was resoundingly positive.
We’ve done a mixture of regular voice actors and deathcore vocalists because I’m a big metalhead myself. And I thought why aren’t they making boss sounds? Why aren’t they making creature sounds in video games with deathcore vocals? So I thought I’d give it a shot … It’s surprising how many metalheads are also cat people! I thought when I started reaching out to vocalists that they would think my game was too cute for them, right? But, surprisingly, instead I got “Oh my god, this is amazing, I love cats so much!”
According to Brutman, Ramos in particular loves cats. His frequent social media posts with his pets made him a “pretty good target” for recruitment to the game’s vocal talents, she said.
Brutman attributes that somewhat surprising love of cats to the way feline friends captivate the internet. From a cat shrine inphilosophical puzzlerThe Talos Principle 2to a cat-only playthrough ofBaldur’s Gate 3, cats have a much bigger cultural pawprint in gaming than merely being cute animal adventures. Brutman thinks about three out of four people, particularly in online spaces, love cats. The other quarter, she thinks, passionately hates them.
Making the Tone Crystal Clear
This cat frenzy and metal mood go into a story that draws deep from the well of fantasy tropes, like a world facing a curse, a mystical warrior seeking the blessings of the crystals, and speaking and sapient animals. Ailur,Kristala’s world, may be born of a fusion of love for death metal and love for cute critters, but it is a clear homage to the mainstays of fantasy narratives.
From the Raksaka Proving being a pilgrimage to find one’s place among the greatest mystic warriors of the land to the way the Dark Cursetwists wildlife into vicious monsters, the game offers up plenty of familiar elements. The Proving is evocative of a similar rite inHorizon: Zero Dawn, there’s the obviousFinal Fantasyvibes of the quest for the crystals, and of course, the idea of gifted mystical warriors competing for a place of honor is common.
And whileNiohandSekiroinform the combat, a major clue to other FromSoftware inspiration comes from the studio’s name itself, said Brutman. “I am a huge fan of the soulslike genre,andBloodbornein particular, which is where the name of our studio came from.”
Astral Clocktower teased an announcement about the Early Access launch date is imminent, and thatKristalais expected to be fully released in late 2025.
