Mictlan: An Ancient Mythical Tale

About

Mictlan is a third-person action RPG where you fight through the mythical underworld during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. You control a survivor who must master ancient weapons like the obsidian Macuahuitl or the long Tepoztopilli while casting spells to summon spirits and defend yourself. The gameplay mixes melee combat with magic, letting you approach battles in different ways as you navigate jungles and dark realms inspired by Mesoamerican culture. This indie title stands out for its authentic cultural focus, featuring dialogue fully dubbed in Nahuatl and Yucatec Mayan rather than English or Spanish. It is the first semi-open world game created by a Mexican-American studio to tell this specific story with such historical attention to detail. Players can explore environments built from real archaeological sites while engaging in fluid combat that honors ancient practices. The project aims to revive forgotten tales without relying on generic fantasy tropes, offering a distinct experience for those interested in pre-Columbian history and mythology.

Storyline

You will embark on a challenging and dangerous journey, exploring a vast fantasy open world: from thick jungles and lush forests to the dark, mythical underworld of Mictlan, the Valley of Death, in an epic quest to unleash the power of the Gods. AN ANCIENT WORLD TO EXPLORE Mictlan is set in a fantasy world heavily inspired by pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, customs, and myths. You will find yourself immersed in a wide, varied and dark open world, exploring detailed locations with great visual and narrative depth, experiencing a culturally rich atmosphere that belongs to an irretrievable past. FIGHT AND SURVIVE Master the fight and emerge a true warrior, engaging both in melee/ranged combat and spellcasting, an exciting and fluid system, suiting players’ different attack styles. In crafting Mictlan's weapons, we aimed at balancing fun with historical accuracy, recreating ancient weapons and armour. - Slash and cut your enemies with the deadly Macuahuitl, a wooden club with shiny, sharp and cruel obsidian pieces embedded in its sides. - Keep enemies at distance using the Tepoztopilli, a long pole-arm weapon the height of a man, with its superior reach and thrusting ability. - Throw your spears from a great distance with deadly force and speed using the lethal Atlatl, easily piercing through any armor or enemy. - Increase your magic skills and conjure spells to summon spirits, defeat enemies and protect yourself. AN AUTHENTIC STORY Mictlan is an indie game by a small studio with big aspirations. We take pride in two unique aspects of our game: it is the first semi-open world video game ever created by a Mexican-American studio, and it is the first video game completely based on Mesoamerican history and culture. With our game, we want to provide players with a challenging and engaging story, but also with the opportunity for celebrating indigenous cultures by reviving thousand-years-old tales. HISTORY MEETS FANTASY At the core of our project is a varied and rich world where history meets fantasy. One of our main goals was to recreate with great accuracy the architecture and iconography of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, drawing evidence from textual descriptions and material remains, all wrapped up in a fantasy setting. Mictlan’s stunning environments, architectural elements, objects and characters are designed using real-life references, locations and archeological sites, providing players with a truly immersive experience, while also enjoying classic fantasy elements. The game blends history and fantasy together as an epic retelling of the most pivotal and bloody moments in ancient Mesoamerican history. VALUING MESOAMERICAN CULTURES At the heart of Mictlan, lies a great story and the revival of long-lost civilizations. Our ambition is to make a game which is not only engaging and fun, but which also allows the gamers to get to know Mexican and Mesoamerican history. 2021 marks the 500th anniversary of Mexico’s independence. Valuing such a rich heritage, ancient culture, practices and myths, is one of our project's driving principles. That's why our game will be fully dubbed in "Nahuatl", the language spoken by the indigenous inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico, and in “Yucatec Mayan”, the Mayan language spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula and northern Belize.