Book of Travels is a very interesting online role-playing game that takes a new approach. You can see how it works based on almost 35 minutes of gameplay from an early version.
What is Book of Travels? The online RPG is referred to by the developers as TMO, Tiny Multiplayer Online RPG. This means you are in an online world, but only a very few players inhabit it per server. The team is still determining how few. However, it should be something very special to encounter a fellow player.
You explore a beautiful game world with your hero, the graphics of which resemble a painting. You encounter NPCs who have tasks for you, and there are even battles against nasty creatures that dwell in the game world. Trading is also important. You can now see how it works with a new gameplay video that shows nearly 35 minutes from the pre-early-access version:
An online RPG of a different kind
What is special about the game? Book of Travels aims to turn the principle of online role-playing games slightly on its head. Because here it is not about being the mighty hero in a world inhabited by thousands of other powerful heroes. You are an adventurer making your way and helping the inhabitants here and there.
For example, in a city, there was a murder of a mythical creature, and you need to solve the mystery behind this situation, which has repercussions on the political situation in the city. The situation is not so easy to master, as your hero can only communicate through emotes.
Our world is a cheerful world. It is not plagued by an evil monster or an evil king. It does not have this cliché, dark fantasy narrative where everything goes to hell, and the players are at the center trying to fix everything.
Jakob Tuchten, Creative Director of Book of Travels
All of this proceeds quite slowly and calmly, as you can see in the video. Therefore, Book of Travels feels more like a game that you play to unwind a bit, rather than to experience hectic battles in action-packed adventures. The graphics play a significant role. Every scene feels as if you are looking at a painting in a museum, wanting to absorb every detail.
Additionally, there is the already mentioned aspect that there are hardly any fellow players in the world and you spend most of your time traveling alone.
There are indeed battles, but even these are something special. You do not encounter an enemy every few seconds. Instead, during the confrontations, you must make important and tactical decisions.
We have the opportunity to provide battles that are actually meaningful. When a fight breaks out, it is associated with risks and has dramatic effects on the character. We debated for a long time whether combat should be a part of the world, but we want to convey the tranquility or peace of the world, and that had to be emphasized by also having dangers right at the roadside.
Jakob Tuchten, Creative Director of Book of Travels
When is the game coming out? The release of the online role-playing game Book of Travels is currently planned for the second quarter of 2021 via Steam. Currently, the game is still in a pre-early-access status.
In the coming months, the developers want to reveal more details about the TMO and show you more gameplay. This way, you should get a better insight into the game, which differs greatly from classic MMORPGs. But perhaps this will bring fresh air to the genre.
If you want to search for other MMORPGs on Steam, you can check out the MeinMMO list of the “10 MMORPGs on Steam with the best ratings“.
