Broken Sword: Parzival’s Stone is a new entry in the beloved point and click series, while the original game is also getting a remaster.
In one of those weird coincidences, I happened to be reading the chapter about the original Broken Sword in Tony Warriner’s excellent book Revolution: The Quest for Game Development Greatness just before I heard the news that there’s going to be a new entry in the series.
I was sat there thinking: “Man, Broken Sword was a great game, I wish they’d make another one.” And then, lo and behold, an email plopped into my inbox saying that Revolution Software is planning to do exactly that. It’s the kind of coincidence that makes you start to believe it’s possible to manifest your intentions in the world. Or perhaps the world is a simulation and I am the only sentient being. But I digress.
Broken Sword: Parzival’s Stone is a brand new adventure in the series – the sixth, if you’re counting – which is being developed for consoles (not sure which ones yet), PC, and mobile. It uses what Revolution are calling a ‘super 2D’ visual approach, which seems to mean that the 2D backgrounds have had 3D geometry applied to them. To be honest, I’m not sure what that really means – all you need to know is that it looks very pretty.
This time around, George and Nico are embroiled in a conspiracy involving “Nazi treasure hunters, brutal medieval histories, and Quantum Physics”, says the press release, needlessly applying capitals to quantum physics. There’s no release date for Broken Sword: Parzival’s Stone just yet, so it’s likely to be some time away.
In equally exciting news, the original Broken Sword is being remastered under the title of Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged. After reading Tony Warriner’s thoughts on the making of the first game, it has brought home to be just what a massive task this must have been. The 1996 original was made at a resolution of 640 x 480, and although the backdrops were created at twice the size and then reduced, all of the characters were created at that tiny resolution. To bring Broken Sword up to a resolution of 4K, Revolution must have had to go back and completely redo every single one of the hundreds of sprites and animations in the game.
Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged is being developed for PC, consoles (again, not sure which ones) and mobile, and will be available in early 2024.
“This is the start of what we’re calling the ‘Broken Sword Renaissance’,” says Revolution founder Charles Cecil in the press release. “With both Parzival’s Stone and Shadow of the Templars: Reforged, we’re making a big, bold, and broad offer both to those who have walked in the shoes of George & Nico before and hunger for a new adventure, and also just as crucially people who have never even heard of the franchise. As with all Broken Sword games, both titles exist as independent adventures with no prior knowledge required, though naturally for those invested in the world we’ve created, there’s a lot to tap into under the surface.”
Read more: Mr Biffo’s Game History: Point, click, it’s all in the mind
