What is Esmerelda: The Black Amber Covenant?

What is Esmerelda: The Black Amber Covenant? #

ETBAC is a game I’ve been working on (in some guise) since 2020. It’s a part-time, labor of love project, but I’m trying to take it as seriously as possible. I have big dreams for it, hopefully it gets to be as big as Stardew Valley someday.

Like SV, it’s a top-down adventure style game. It also is heavily inspired by Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It also draws on minimalist design styles from Gen 3 Pokemon and Earthbound to render the adventure.

Features #

ETBAC hase 3 major pillars to its overall design:

  1. Combat: Action-Adventure hack and slash, real-time combat.
  2. Narrative: Full Bethesda-esque Quest system, moral choices and an open world to explore.
  3. Collect-a-thon: Acquire loot and resources to cprogress in the game.

Context #

Become the apprentice to a witch and explore the land of Esmeralda, while using your wit, strength, and new-found magical abilities to unravel a long-secret truce between the natural and supernatural worlds.

Release #

December 2025 for Android / IOS / PC