A great storyteller can paint a vivid picture with their words, and Mundaun's Michel Ziegler is no exception. The sole member and founder of Hidden Fields, Ziegler has worked to develop the beautiful and intense world of Mundaun for the past six years, and a first look at the game revealed it is worth the wait. While some modern-day horror titles utilize jump scares and gross imagery, Mundaun uses the unsettling beauty of the Alps and sequences of dream logic to psychologically manipulate its players.
Perhaps the most impressive facet of Mundaun, and what sets it apart from other horror titles, is that every asset of the game has been hand drawn with pencil by Michel Ziegler. Ziegler starts by drawing the textures of each object by hand and then scans them onto his computer. The textures are then wrapped around a 3D model and placed in the world. While pencil drawing can feel flat and lifeless, Michel manages to use the medium in such a way that breathes new life into the Alps. The dark tone of pencil is ideal for Mundaun's tone.
Mundaun takes place in the European Alps where Ziegler spent much time as a child. While Mundaun is not an open-world game, there are three large areas that are open for the player to explore. The Alps are naturally beautiful, but stripping them of their color gives them a rather creepy atmosphere. The beauty of the Alps can still be seen through Ziegler's drawings, but they are much more unsettling than they would be in full color. Regardless, players are encouraged to explore the unnerving landscapes in order to find hidden items, paintings, and music.
The game's protagonist returns to the Alps for the first time since he was a child after hearing of his grandfather's unnatural and mysterious death. Along the way, players will meet and learn about the remaining inhabitants of the secluded mountain valley. As the player progresses they will uncover the sinister secrets that haunt the people of the Alps leading to the discovery of what really happened to the protagonist's grandfather. The story is bathed in real-world folklore from the Alps and often references real places that Ziegler visited during the past six years.
Mundaun plays like any other adventure horror title while throwing in some unique mechanics. The game is not an RPG, but has RPG-lite elements that encourage the player to take their time in certain areas. The base of operations is a log cabin where the player can listen to music, ire artwork, and make coffee. Actions performed in the cabin, such as making coffee, affect the player's status giving mundane tasks a sense of purpose. Players do not have a health bar, but instead are negatively affected by fear. If the protagonist is afraid they will raise their hand in front of them, and the level of fear is depicted through how much the hand twists and contorts.
One of the details that make Mundaun so interesting is how it uses sequences of dream logic. These encounters simultaneously cause unease while piquing the player's interest. Players must travel across the depths of a dark body of water in order to reach floating light. Black goats appear from seemingly nowhere to lead the player to a desirable location. As paintings are completed, the images become reality. It's these events that draw the player deeper into the grim world of Mundaun when they know they should be running away.
Ziegler stated that Mundaun can take anywhere from six to eight hours to complete depending on how a player chooses to experience the game. All in all, Mundaun is a horrifying, unsettling, and discomforting experience that is too beautiful not to play. With heart pumping and hands sweating, the dark dream-like world of Mundaun is gearing up to be a must-play game.
Mundaun will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
