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Press release:
Denver, USA – March 1st, 2023.
The Denver-based (Colorado, the US) indie games publisher Versus Evil and Timmins-based (Ontario, Canada) indie games developer Yarrow Games, today announced with great thrill and happiness that their dice-based mystery-driven roguelike “Tamarak Trail” is coming to PC (via Steam) and consoles (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch) in Q2 2023.

“Tamarak Trail” is a turn-based dice rolling roguelike where you customize dice with powerful abilities and explore a dangerous forest filled with events and monsters. As a member of a secret society named the Sturgeon Lodge it’s up to you to piece together the mystery of a decaying earth, hunt down the source of this corruption and put a stop to it at all costs.

Embarking on this adventure, you can choose one of three characters; The Magician, The Tracker or The Detective, each with their own class and abilities. Depending on your preferred playstyle, the skills and attributes allow you to craft a unique strategy for your character as they navigate the ominous trail. Procedurally generated paths create a myriad of different possibilities where you can encounter events, monsters, campsites, treasure and more. Every new discovery reveals new bonuses and strategies to explore.
To combat the monsters and nefarious foes you will encounter, you have a variety of tactical options to attack directly, apply buffs and debuffs, inflict damage over time, defend yourself and much more. Dice are an integral part to both the combat system and player experience and provide both active and passive abilities. Dice rolls can combo for brutal attacks if the sides of the dice interact with each other. Dice can also be customized with more abilities after each victory, adding new layers to gameplay after every battle.

With a beautiful hand-drawn illustrative style, the game’s art direction has many inspirations, including the Group of Seven, the Canadian landscape painters of the 1920’s and illustrator Ivan Bilibin. Tamarak Trail takes its inspiration from roguelike deck builders like Slay the Spire, and pays homage to innovative titles like Dicey Dungeons and Peglin, which have influenced the game’s feel and mechanics. Add to that a diverse and horrific bestiary influenced by Northern Ontario’s wildlife, it culminates in a treacherous trail where danger and intrigue hides in every corner.

“We’re never one to shy away from a strong and intriguing narrative or stylized art direction, especially when it’s backed up with deeply layered and innovative gameplay mechanics like this,” said Steve Escalante, general Manager of Versus Evil.

“Tamarak Trail is a title that fits in perfectly with what we’re all about as a publisher. We love how it will excite the deckbuilder fans while also delivering a solid roguelite experience to fans of the genre. You are going to want to play this one!”

About Yarrow Games
Yarrow Games was founded in 2021. Tamarak Trail is the studio’s first title, although members Piotr Lipert (Programming, Game Design), Lynden Joudrey (Art, Animation) and Michael Noble (Music, SFX) had worked together in the past.

About Versus Evil
Founded in 2013, Versus Evil, LLC is the US based video game publisher behind critically acclaimed video games First Class Trouble, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire and The Banner Saga trilogy. Publishing games on all major mobile, PC and console platforms, Versus Evil works with independent development studios from around the world. The corporate philosophy is to champion for the independent game developer. For more information visit versusevil.com