When I saw that Nanotale from Fishing Cactus was going to be at PAX East, I was extremely excited to demo this game because it is in the same family of their first game, Epistory which I enjoyed so much.
Nanotale featured many of the same familiar mechanics from its predecessor, but with plenty of upgrades. Visually the biggest change I noticed was in the environmental elements and a health bar for each of the enemies. On the combat side of things, it’s the same typing game I grew to love back in 2016 with more of a command-line type spells system added. Now you have mana/magic that the environment gives you by typing the words associated with the plants, and you can use that mana for your spells.
The commands entered seem to all be in three-word phrases, TYPE, ELEMENT, SIZE. In the demo, I used “Ray, Fire, Large” and then typed in the name of the creature I wanted to use it on, and it fired a large ray of fire. Using this I had one of those “oh shit!” gaming moments that we all love when we discover something by mistake. In using this skill, I got to see grass burn which led to some wood burning and opened a new path for me. In doing this, I also noticed a spore on the ground which had a command, “Growth” was the word that appeared. I typed it in and the grass grew back. It’s the simple things with this game, but every moment of exploration grants an “ah-ha!” moment.
Nanotale is out now on Steam Early Access and its also on sale during PAX East!
Honestly, if you haven’t played Epistory, get the bundle, as the price is great!
