Ereban: Shadow Legacylaunched earlier this month as the debut title of Baby Robot Games. For most of the team, this is their debut title and a love letter to the stealth genre. It’s the type of game that someone who’s a fan ofThief, Dishonored, orAragamiwould likely enjoy their time with, and it’ll be interesting to see howEreban: Shadow Legacyfactors into the overall genre in the long run. Most of these titles, for example, have longer tails and a cult following.
Ereban: Shadow Legacyapproaches the stealth genrewith a focus on shadows. It’s a novel, fitting concept for the genre, but achieving it was not easy. Game Rant recently sat down withEreban: Shadow Legacycreative director Alex Márquez to talk about the creation of its shadow gameplay, the game’s development, the various concepts it realizes, what was left on the cutting room floor, and much more.The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Making Ereban Shadow Legacy
Q: For our readers, please tell us a bit about yourself andEreban: Shadow Legacy.
A:Hi! My name’s Alejandro Márquez (or Alex), and I’m the Creative Director of Ereban: Shadow Legacy. This game is for me (and for the majority of the team) our debut title. It’s a third-person stealth platformer game in which you take control of Ayana, the last descendant of an ancestral race with the power of merging in the shadows and moving freely through them.
This all started at uni. We were students and wanted to develop a stealth game, as we have been fans of this type of game since we were kids but felt that, nowadays, there have been really few releases of this genre. We also wanted to add something new and fresh. After lots of brainstorming, Alex Alonso, one of the members of the team showed us a little sketch, featuring a column casting a shadow on a wall, and a character using that shadow to climb it. He said, “Traditionally, in stealth games, you are encouraged to hide in the shadows to not be seen. What if you could literally become one with it?” We immediately saw the potential of this idea and started to think and build the game using that as a base. After 5 years and lots of effort, Ereban was born.
Q:Ereban: Shadow Legacyreleased over a week ago. What were some of the biggest challenges during development?
A:With no doubt, the biggest one was developing the movement when in shadow mode (or, as the mechanic is called, Shadow Merge), because it affects every aspect of the development. For those who don’t know, the Shadow Merge allows players to dive into any surface that has shadows on it and move freely through them. So, as long as you don’t touch a light or run out of stamina, besides moving invisibly and without making any noise, you’re able to climb up walls, pass through small spaces, use moving shadows for traversal…
From the technical point of view, we had to develop a 1:1 shadow detection system, which implies there had to be lots of lights (one of the most demanding things in terms of performance), and on top of that, they had to be calculated dynamically, because you can also use the shadows of moving objects. Also, the movement itself was super challenging to develop, as you as a player can navigate on any surface that has shadows on it.
Then, from the artistic point of view, we had to create organic and believable scenarios, complex enough to be appealing but simple enough to make sure the Shadow Merge works well on those surfaces. And we had to fake the lighting, so you could distinguish exactly what’s light and what’s shadow at first sight.
Then, from the design and level design point of view, we had to create systems and rules that allowed players to feel free and powerful to navigate the levels, with multiple ways to reach their objectives, while making sure to respect the technical constraints. Besides, we had to take into account that every object placed in the level that cast a shadow could be a potential path for the player. We even hadto develop techniques and ways to guide the player, as traditionally developers use lights, but we had to use shadows.
As you see, there were lots of challenges that appeared from a single mechanic. But in the end, we think it was totally worth the effort, as navigating the shadows feels smooth and super powerful (sometimes, even too much!)
Q: Are there any abilities, gadgets or overall features that were almost added to the game, but weren’t?
A: Yes, a lot! During development, there were lots of ideas that, because of time or resources, we couldn’t make. There are some core mechanics we’d love to explore if we can make a potential sequel. And there were other abilities that at some point were in the build, but didn’t make it to the release version.
For example, the skill tree initially was a bit more complex. Each major Shadow Power (such as the Shadow Blind) was going to have an “evolution,” like an upgraded version of that shadow power. For example, the Shadow Blind was initially a short-range ability, and its evolution would unlock the power that is right now in the game, giving players the ability to aim and make it ranged. In the end, we opted for simplifying those and going directly to the upgraded abilities.
There werealso shadow powers that we finally had to cut.My favorite allowed players to chain executions if robots were in range, by teleporting from one shadow to the other, like some kind of combo. However, it wasn’t production-ready, caused balancing problems, and opened the door to a whole bunch of bugs.
Playing Ereban Shadow: Legacy
Q: Ayana’s gadgets, like her mines and flash bangs, help her move through the shadows. Which do you think is the most helpful gadget?
A:I think it depends a lot on each player’s playstyle. For me, as a collector, the Shadow Sonar is a must. It allows me to locate every collectible in every chapter, so I don’t miss them and can craft the rest of the gadgets as soon as possible. It’s not maybe the most OP, but it’s the most versatile for me.
When doing lethal playthroughs, the Mine (especially the Shadow Mine) was super helpful, as I could remove several robots from the distance with a single well-thrown shadow mine.
I personally don’t use the Decoy and Visor that much, because I already know the pathsto infiltrate the enemy lines without being seen, but they can also be very helpful to distract and plan each infiltration respectively. Besides, as an Easter egg, we added ourselves to the game as workers. If you upgrade the Visor to Lvl2, when scanning the workers, you’re able to see our names and a little fun description about each member of the team.
Q: The SYMULANTS “serve the light” while Ayana gets her powers from the darkness. What’s the purpose of using themes of light versus dark?
A:As the main mechanic already used this theme, we wanted to explore it in every other aspect of the game, including the narrative. It’s a really strong duality that has been used in many other games, movies, etc, but in our case, it allowed us to start on the dark side, with our antagonists being on the light side. However, we didn’t want it to be a simple “darkness = bad / light = good” or vice versa story. Our world and its conflicts are much more complex and grey than that, and we wanted to reflect that in our game as well. In the end, shadows need light to exist, and it’s the light that casts these shadows.
Q: Players are able to play their way to help Ayana find her people- stealth or non-stealth. By letting players have different choices, what do you think this tells them about Ayana and also about themselves?
A:I’ve always loved when stealth games allow you to play the way you want, being lethal or non-lethal. However, I always end up playing non-lethally, because I feel bad about those characters, knowing I’m killing them while having the option not to. And, for example, ingames like Dishonored(one of my favorite), this leaves me with a feeling of not experiencing the whole game, because there are mechanics I never get to use.
In Ereban, as enemies, you encounter SYMs and Helios workers. Because SYMs are just robots, you can be lethal without any remorse if you want to, so there’s no drawback to investing in the lethal route. But with workers, that’s different. They won’t attack you. They are just humans, earning a salary working for a megacorporation. However, they are scared of you, as for them, you are a terrorist, so if they see you they will raise the alarm. What also makes them interesting, is that if you kill them, you’ll absorb their pneumas andgain more shadow power to stay longerin Shadow Merge.
By doing this, we raise a question: are you a pragmatic person who, to defeat their enemy, will kill anyone that stands in your way, to become more powerful and eliminate threats? Or do you prefer to struggle more if that means you won’t murder innocent people? As the last of the Ereban, that’s essentially what Ayana (and therefore the players) has to decide, and the legacy she will define at the end of the adventure.
Q: Ayana seems to be desperate to find her people and uncover the truth. Are there any particular messages about a sense of belonging that you’re trying to communicate?
A:Not particularly, but we chose this concept of being the last of your species for many reasons. It’s such a strong concept and a strong motivator. It also allows players to discover the Ereban at the same time as Ayana. It allows her to present herself as a blank page, so players can decide which faction are they more aligned with: the Ereban, humanity, or Helios, and ultimately decide their legacy based on that.
Writing a Love Letter to Stealth Games in Ereban: Shadow Legacy
Q: After completing the game, what can players take away fromEreban: Shadow Legacy?
A:As huge fans of stealth games, all we wanted with this game is to give back something to this genre, which sadly is a bit abandoned right now, by adding a new entry to the collection with our own twist and a lot of love. It’s the type of game we enjoy as players within the team: single-player, straight to the point, not too long, no microtransactions, etc. In short, it’s our love letter to stealth games. As long as people enjoy merging with the shadows with Ayana during her adventure, I’ll be more than happy.
Q: What do you think is the appeal of stealth video games?
Márquez:Actually, in my case, there are a lot of elements in stealth video games that appeal to me. The feeling of entering a forbidden territory while unnoticed, the inferiority in number and strength vs your enemies and how you have to be smarter than them to surpass their lines, the loop of planning + executing that plan (and the improvisation when things don’t go exactly as planned), the tension that at any moment everything can go wrong…
All that combined is what, at least for me, creates these strong feelings and moments. And if you combine that withsupernatural powers, like in Dishonored or Aragami… chef’s kiss.
Q: Are there any thoughts of creating a DLC or a sequel?
Márquez:We’d love to expand this universe, either with a sequel or with a spin-off. During development, we came up with lots of ideas we would have loved to implement and play with because we think this IP has much more potential. However, the industry is not in the best moment right now, and while the reception of Ereban is very positive on Steam, the sales so far don’t allow us to make another one. Unfortunately, we are a very small studio, and this is a very expensive project. But yeah, I hope we can eventually make another game based on the Ereban universe.
In the meantime, while we are exploring what to do next, we plan to keep supporting the game, fixing bugs, and doing some free updates.
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