14 DAY TRIAL // The first installment in the episodic third-person action adventure game Unearthed: Trail of Ibn Battuta has just become available on Steam.
Players are given the role of fortune hunter Faris Jawad, joined by his sister Dania as they go on the trail of Muslim explorer Ibn Battuta, set in the modern-day Middle East.
Along the way, they will visit the city of Morocco and face an evil alliance consisting of an arms dealer, a local militia army leader and an antiquities smuggler.
Unearthed: Trail of Ibn Battuta – Episode 1 features both melee combat and cover-based shooting, interlaced with puzzles, platforming and exploration elements, stealth sequences and driving.
The action is set to a number of exotic settings such as modern-day Morocco, old Damascus, Alexandria and Dubai.
The game was developed by Saudi Aradbia-based studio Semaphore, is available in both English and Arabic full voice-overs and features subtitles in over 21 languages. It also includes unlockable extra cutscenes and concept art, as well as a survival mode where players have to battle endless waves of enemies.
Semaphore have tried to deliver a unique experience that depicts the reality of the Arabic environment without compromise, working to present “a locally-developed product with global appeal” that will “break the mainstream conventions about the Middle East and the portrayal of women in gaming,” according to director of development Ahmad Jadallah.
The game will be presented in a TV-style episodic format, including recaps of previous episodes, cliff-hanger endings and previews of what lies ahead.
Unearthed: Trail of Ibn Battuta – Episode 1 is available now for $5 / €4 on Steam, and until January 10 it will benefit from a 20 percent discount.