Terracotta

Terracotta is a game about an awakened warrior in the Emperor’s Terracotta Army. As the sole uncursed soldier, you must free your 8,000 comrades from a spiritual blight by channeling the Tao and shifting between the realms of Yin and Yang. The story takes place in the Qin dynasty, whose foundations shaped China for two thousand years.

The realms of Yin and Yang

You move between the Emperor’s tomb and the afterlife, looping between death and the afterlife to overcome cursed challenges. Yin is a solitary, tranquil realm: its dark, desolate tomb serves as a fortress where you can plan, prepare and alter the layout. Yang is a realm of light and action, where you execute combat strategies, evade enemies and overcome the tomb’s defenders to find the source of the curse.

Puzzles and combat

You work through more than 80 levels across elemental paths, using mind and body to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles. You awaken ancient mechanisms and descend into the underworld, relying on speed and agility as well as brute force to face its foes. Eight bosses test your mastery of the nine phases of Qi, the universal energy that forms all living beings.

Your fellow warriors are bound to protect the Emperor in the afterlife, though they may mistake you for an enemy. You can save all 8,000 of them, each with an individual appearance inspired by the Terracotta Army.

Art and music

The game’s art draws on guo hua, the aesthetics of traditional Chinese painting. Its soundtrack takes inspiration from traditional instruments classified through the ancient Chinese ba yin.