” We are revealing the game now in this way to simply show people that we are still moving forward but also as a clear middle finger to those who thought they could just walk into our country hoping to disrupt and ruin our lives. said Sergey Oganesyan, in charge of studio communication. A direct reference to the Russian military operation, still ongoing in Ukraine and continuing for four months now. The title of the game is also a message addressed to the belligerent: ” The name Palianytsia is symbolic for Ukraine as it is considered part of our national cuisine. “He explains before continuing:” But it’s also the equivalent of phonetic Dark Souls for Russians who often can’t pronounce it correctly when trying to impersonate Ukrainians. This is why it is now often used in the field as a test to quickly identify the possible affiliation of unknown individuals. »
The game is currently in the pre-production phase and should adopt a more limited scope than the studio’s previous achievements, which had turned to the open world. The goal would be, according to the Frogwares press release, to be able to develop it with a reduced team – a certain number of studio employees are fighting on the front lines while others are engaged in the humanitarian effort – and to show themselves flexible and reactive if the situation should require it: The threat that tomorrow something could happen somewhere or to someone that will force us to adapt radically once again means that we have to be more flexible. With that in mind, we had to make a decision. “Explains the studio in a letter accompanying this announcement and which you can find in full at the end of this brief.
Project Palianytsia is a horror game set in the Victorian era that promises to appeal to fans of The Sinking City and Sherlock Holmes. Frogwares released some concept art offering a first glimpse of the direction it intends to take and the studio hopes to be able to tell us more about this project during the summer.
The war continues. And U.S. too. A new game is in preparation.
We come to the fourth month of the Russian invasion. This so-called “special operation” was supposed to take place in just a few days. It’s funny how life doesn’t always go as planned. We have no doubt that Ukraine will remain an independent nation – no matter what Russian forces throw at us. But because of the war, we have to adapt. And the work must continue. With that, we have an announcement to make.
We can now officially reveal that we are working on a new game, codenamed “Palianytsia”. This is a horror and mystery experience that should appeal to fans of The Sinking City and Sherlock Holmes. We’ll make a formal announcement soon, but for now, we have some concept stuff to share with you.
To be frank, “Palianytsia” is not the project we originally planned to do next, but with the war unfolding, we had to re-evaluate everything. It’s a bit more streamlined than our last open-world titles, but it’s a game we’re confident we can deliver in these dire circumstances.
As an independent studio, we always have to balance our resources and our workflow to be able to deliver our games. But the war has thrown noticeable obstacles on us and our established process. Constant communication and iteration between teams is harder to maintain, so we need a project where staff can have more autonomy. Roles and responsibilities had to change to fill the voids left by those who signed up to fight or provide humanitarian aid. And the threat that tomorrow something could happen somewhere or to someone that will force us to adapt radically once again means that we have to be more flexible. With that in mind, we had to make a decision.
Do we have to go ahead with a large project and risk being disrupted, having less room for research and development, and innovation, less access to your highly qualified personnel, and having less pre-production and development of specific tools? Or maybe we can get smart and create a project that’s easier to do and smaller in scope, but still ambitious, quality, with a great story and mystery behind it. In this way, we can not only create a new game, but also do so by supporting those who are fighting.
We will soon tell you more about our next title. And, if you’re interested, we’d like to give you a more detailed look at our lives and work during a war. Maybe that could bring you a little closer to us. We’re also looking at other ways to get the game directly to you – more on that soon.
Thank you for your support during this time. Stay safe wherever you are.
-Team Frogwares