MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus grew up with books. His first really thick tomes were all fantasy works. They have influenced him to this day and in a lasting way. Now, the very books that started it all are coming to Steam – and it’s double!
I love fantasy. Whether in books, movies, series, or video games: If I have a choice, I watch, read, or play something from the fantasy genre. It doesn’t matter if it’s clean high fantasy, rough low fantasy, or the dirty, dark whatever Warhammer is doing – the latter has become my favorite.
My first fantasy books were the Redwall saga by English author Brian Jacques, which came to Germany in 1998. The series somehow always flew under the radar, at least here. No wonder, the books were released almost simultaneously with Harry Potter. However, I never really liked that; it was just too exaggerated for me, and even the word “Muggle” seems silly to me to this day. Yes, feel free to spit on me, but I can’t get into that universe.
Redwall is special. Jacques doesn’t just write about magic but combines fantasy with fables and a wonderful medieval world. At the center is the namesake, Redwall Abbey, built of red stone. The inhabitants are mice, rats, badgers…
Despite its seemingly cute presentation, Redwall is quite brutal. Sword fights and deaths are not uncommon. Nevertheless, the series captivated me as a child; I read the first volume at about 8 years old. I was such a big Redwall fan that my first battle tag in Warcraft 3 back then was “Lord Raunklinge,” one of the badger rulers from the series.
Redwall gets 2 games on Steam and I want both
Recently, I received an email from a smaller PR company. Subject: some new games on Steam. Normally, I just skim through such things, but this one caught my eye. It was about Redwall. And yes, about my Redwall.
The saga is getting two games on Steam, both of which are set to be released in 2024:
- The Lost Legends of Redwall: Feasts & Friends – A cooking simulation where you play as an innkeeper serving guests. A true cozy game with cute characters and heartwarming small-town stories. Releases in Q1 2024.
- The Lost Legends of Redwall: The Scout Anthology – Essentially “just” a compilation of the previously released “Scout” games from Redwall, but all acts in one game. This is about solving puzzles in a platformer adventure and skillfully overcoming jump or balance puzzles. Releases on February 21, 2024.
There were already Redwall games on Steam before, but they were either incomplete or pure text adventures with no real high standards. The new games won’t be blockbusters either, but they bring back a piece of my childhood.
In researching this topic, I even stumbled upon more that flew completely under the radar for me as a fan.
Redwall has become a huge world, but nobody has noticed
The saga by Brian Jacques now includes not just 22 books – of which only 9 have been translated into German – but also films and series. They are all quite old, but Netflix has been working on a new adaptation since 2021.
Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any new information on that for a while; at least the production hasn’t been canceled. The fact that even I haven’t heard about it may be because I didn’t read English books as a child and teenager. Today, that might be different.
Redwall will not experience a sudden surge from the new games. But anyone who is into fantasy that takes a bit of a different approach should definitely check out some of the saga – whether it’s series, films, books, or now soon the games. My warmest recommendation, even if it’s of course through the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia.
Unfortunately, most of the series can no longer be easily streamed online. Luckily, they have been released on DVD, which means I’ll probably have to go shopping again soon. But I’m used to that; even my favorite pirate series is not available online through any major streaming service.
