Sicilian developer Round Cartridge and co-developer Distant Illusions are working on Dormiveglia, a new 2D metroidvania that’s essentially a mashup of Super Mario and Castlevania.

Development on Dormiveglia started back in 2019 with the game’s first demo being released and eventually got shown off at SAGE 2020. A release is planned for PC (via Steam).

Since then the team has been working on polishing the game’s art and gameplay, for now you can grab the latest demo over on Itch.io. A release date isn’t set but the game is coming “when it’s done.”

Here’s a rundown on the game, plus its latest trailer:

Dormiveglia is a 2D indie metroidvania developed by Round Cartridge, with a focus on puzzles and narrative.

The journey begins from Spring Plaza, a peaceful village on the north of Elysium. One day Quinn is woken up by an inhabitant and asked to help them deal with the Sorceress Somnia who has suddenly invaded the Plaza for mysterious reasons…

Quinn is one of the Four Heroes, individuals set to watch over the four towns at the corners of Elysium. Each town is named after a season and have a key monument that characterises them; From Spring Plaza’s immense Clocktower, to the impressive Battle Arena in Winter Arena as well as the Gong in Summer Crevasse and the Radio Tower in Autumn City.

The journey will task Quinn with searching for four ancient Runes before Somnia and her Nightcrawlers get to them first, allowing her to cast a powerful spell that would put the entirety of the world into an eternal slumber.

Along the way Quinn will tag along with the other three Heroes and explore the many fantastical and dreamlike areas of the world like Dawning Islands, Midnight Mines, Noon Nests and Twilight Tundra, each explorable area hosting a dungeon to conquer and more pieces of the mystery to piece together…

With their trusty whip, Quinn can do all sorts of actions to traverse the environment and solve puzzles! Lasso enemies and throw them, carry things, push, pull, grab and drag, whip and break. Study your environment carefully and use your moveset accordingly to proceed!

Features

• Beautifully crafted 2D sprites and art that accentuates Elysium’s dreamy and surreal nature.
• An original soundtrack made by two dedicated musicians.
• A unique story with a diverse cast of friends and foes to encounter and twists along your quest around Elysium.
• Precise rope-swinging tied with speedrun-friendly mechanics that let you zoom across the screen!
• Intuitive and tight controls inspired by older Metroidvania games that provide simple, yet challenging combat and platforming.
• Secrets hidden throughout and lots of whips – all with differing abilities and attributes for Quinn to wield.
• Talk among the people living in each town and learn more about the hidden history (and lore!) of Elysium – or get some hints on where to go next.
• 5 playable chapters, each focusing on a major village.
• A plethora of bosses who stand in your way, all for you to conquer.
• Grapes! Delicious and keeps Quinn healthy!

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