The Brotherhood has set the release date for their Africa-inspired post-apocalyptic isometric adventure game, Beautiful Desolation. The game will launch on 26 February 2020.

Beautiful Desolation will launch on Steam and GOG, and the game is available to wishlist on both platforms.

Expect early discounts and bonus bundles in the first week of release, The Brotherhood said.

Officially, Beautiful Desolation has been in development since February 2017 when its Kickstarter ended with $138,457 pledged. The Brotherhood's goal was to raise $120,000.

However, the Bischoff brothers posted about the game on the Make Games SA forums as early as September 2016. The post contained a video, animated GIFs, and still images to showcase the visual aesthetic they were going for with Beautiful Desolation.

The cinematic they released with their Kickstarter campaign contained several nods to South Africa. This included a scene showing warships in the bay in front of Table Mountain, and a rifle with the word "Knobkierie" written on it.

The Brotherhood is headed up by Christopher and Nicolas Bishoff. Nic handles the programming and his brother, Chris, handles the art.

For the music in Beautiful Desolation, the two brothers roped in Australian composer and sound designer Mick Gordon. Gordon has composed music for Doom, Prey, and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Most recently, he provided additional music support for Borderlands 3.

In addition to working on Beautiful Desolation these past three years, the brothers have been helping Brian Fargo at inXile Entertainment with the visuals of Wasteland 3 since 2016. Wasteland 3 is slated to release on 19 May 2020.

The team recently released a new trailer and a fresh set of screenshots from Beautiful Desolation as they gear up for release. They also gave Most Epic Win an interview about their influences, the use of South African languages, and whether there will be a branching storyline.

The Story

Based on the first cinematic posted on Kickstarter, Beautiful Desolation takes place in an alternate history South Africa.

In the 1980s, on a slow Tuesday afternoon, a structure called the Penrose appeared over Cape Point.

The Penrose is an object of untold technological abundance that advanced civilisation on all frontiers. Hunger and disease were eradicated, energy was mastered, and mortality was conquered. For a fleeting moment, mankind forgot about its differences and progressed as one.

But peace would be short-lived.

Humanity would wage war... and desolation would ensue.

From the official blurb:

Mark, a man out of time, searches for his lost brother Don, in a far-flung futuristic era ruled by highly advanced technologies which are both revered and reviled.

Your surroundings hold echoes of a desolate past, and glimpses of a dark future that has yet to be written by your actions. Be prepared to face many tough choices that will shape this land long after you complete your journey.

The inhabitants of this world will help and hinder you, as you make new discoveries and navigate the spectacular African-inspired landscape. Negotiate your passage with local leaders, healers and warriors, or find yourself embroiled in a battle against nanite swarms, enormous scorpions and rocket-equipped robots.

From thriving villages to crumbling cities, petrified forests and bone-dry ocean beds, this strange new world holds a multitude of terrains to uncover, beautifully rendered in 2D isometric art.

Pricing

The Brotherhood has announced standard and deluxe editions for the game.

In US dollar terms, the standard edition of Beautiful Desolation will sell for $19.99. The deluxe edition includes Mick Gordon's soundtrack, an art book, and wallpapers for $29.99.

For those who earn South African rand, the localised pricing on Steam will probably work out cheaper than on GOG.

Image background by vorster vanzyl on Unsplash.