Buy ArtFormer: Ancient Stories PC key

ArtFormer: Ancient Stories is a story-driven cinematic platformer with RPG elements. Its four chapters each follow a different hero through a story inspired by fragments of human history, with distinct gameplay and an art style based on cave paintings, Egyptian papyrus, Greek pottery or Roman mosaics. Each chapter introduces new gameplay mechanics.

Four ancient stories

In the prehistoric chapter, you play as a young boy preparing for his initiation into manhood. Help your people, learn to fight, travel through caves and face dangers as you fulfill your destiny and become your tribe’s leader. The chapter draws on cave paintings from places including Tassili and Altamira.

The Egyptian chapter follows Pharaoh Ramesses II on a journey through the underworld. Help him cross the treacherous Nile, bring his mummy to the tomb and guide his soul to the underworld. Its imagery draws on papyrus and tomb paintings, funerary objects and artifacts, and Egyptian statues.

The Greek chapter tells the story of King Odysseus, his role in the Trojan War and his journey to Ithaca. Fight your way out of burning Troy, cross the Aegean Sea, face mythological creatures and seek a way home. Its visual style takes inspiration from Greek pottery from Minoan Crete, Athens, Sparta and elsewhere.

In the Roman chapter, you follow a gladiator during the ancient Roman Republic. Find the fighter’s school, train, choose a combat style and buy equipment. Fight for glory in the arena while making enemies and friends, and stay alert to danger. The chapter’s inspiration includes Roman mosaics from Rome, Pompeii, Sicily and other parts of Italy, and contrasts the brutality of gladiator games with Roman culture’s aesthetic achievements.

Quests and combat

Across the campaign, you fight enemies and hunt wild animals with spears, swords, axes and bows. You can sneak, explore and survive perilous environments, take on more than 100 quests, speak with NPCs through 800 lines of dialogue and use a personal journal. The Greek and Roman chapters also include classic RPG elements, alongside puzzles and original mini-games.

One-handed controls

ArtFormer can be played using one hand, with controls designed for players with reduced mobility or another impairment affecting one upper limb. Its control scheme differs from the standard setups used in similar platformers.