Nightscape, based on Arabic mythology, managed to impress us by drawing us into its colorful world. By accompanying Layla on her journey, we send back the stars that fell to the earth.
The details were given to us by Hamad K, creative director of Mezan Studios. Nightscape, a 2.5D adventure game that invites players into the magical atmosphere of the ancient Arab world. In the game, we, together with our goat friend, participate in the story of Layla, who is trying to solve the mystery behind the Starfall event, where stars fall. The game is equipped with unique constellation powers and offers players a rich experience both visually and in terms of story.
Nightscape: Journey to the Mysteries of the Sky from Mezan Studios
The idea for “Nightscape” was born from the desire to explore what happens after the sudden disappearance of stars in a world deeply connected to the stars. Inspired by the richness of Arab star legends, it aims to highlight this heritage that does not find enough space in mainstream culture. Developed from scratch by a team with no hands-on game development experience, led by Hamad K since 2019, Nightscape promises a world full of inspiring stories and reframed tropes.
In the game, we undertake the task of returning the stars to their places as the character Layla, who travels in an ancient Arabian night world illuminated by the light of the constellations at night. The process of restoring the stars helps Layla battle the mysterious creatures she encounters on her journey, solve puzzles, and explore this damaged world. A cheerful goat kid accompanies Layla on her journey, and interaction with the night sky forms one of the core mechanics of the game.
Her flying goat, which travels with Layla and is much more helpful than we thought, helps her overcome various obstacles. Enemies such as scorpions encountered along the way are destroyed using weapons such as arrows. Additionally, Layla’s powers are used to solve various puzzles, such as opening closed bridges or creating floods by making it rain. The world of the game attracts attention with its colorful design and supernatural elements.
Nightscape also drags players into a fight full of challenging bosses such as giant scorpions. You need to think strategically to defeat these bosses. At the end of every great war, we manage to return the stars that fell to the earth to their original places in the sky. The design of Nightscape, which is based on astronomy knowledge based on Middle Eastern and Greek astronomy, is inspired by many adventure games such as Journey.
While developing “Nightscape”, Mezan Studios benefits from the knowledge of cultural astronomers and aims to provide an experience that enriches both the gameplay and narrative of the game. The demo on display shows that the game is still in development, and the studio is currently working on the production phase. It can be played on PC, PS5 and Xbox platforms and there is no release date for the production yet.
