There are probably few folk that I have less in common with than heroic, rugged, manly Canadian lumberjacks. I talk my way out of trouble instead of admonishing it with shovel-sized fists, I’m softer than freshly fallen snow, you couldn’t fill a thimble with my daily testosterone output and I’d rather write a poem about a tree than chop one down. Oh, and even though I really like Canada, I’m definitely not Canadian and don’t live there. Sang-Froid doesn’t care about that though, it’s going to plant me in the boots of an outdoorsman anyway and then it’s going to ask me to kill werewolves and other devilish denizens of the night. Part defence game, part action, it looks rather spiffy. Look at the lengthy video below and see if you agree.
The planning area, for the laying of traps and distractions, looks to be a good size and the setting is at least fourteen million times more interesting than The Dreadful Goblin Castle of Goblin-Castle Mountain. Castle.
Two things make the idea stand out to me, apart from the setting and characters. First is the ‘fear factor’, captured in the scene where the hero reloads by a fire, knowing that the wolves won’t be intimidated by its flames for long. Because he is weaker than his enemies, as well as outnumbered, the traps must not only kill, but frighten and maim. The nightmares must believe you are stronger than them.
Then there’s the senses of the creatures, which should add to the hunter/hunted dynamic. Sound, smell and sight can all be used to lure the monsters toward traps, and all can give away the player’s position at an inopportune moment.
There are more videos and details at the game’s site and it’s also made an appearance on Steam Greenlight. It’s looking good to me, the only disappointment being that there are two brothers but no co-op. Maybe later?
18/09/2012 at 14:04 Gap Gen says:
“…must protect their sister Josephine from the devil, who is trying to kidnap her.” Awesome.
18/09/2012 at 14:41 Ultra Superior says:
Native american pagan magic should negate the effects of christian blessings and wayside crosses. Devil knows.
18/09/2012 at 14:13 AmateurScience says:
But, do you put on women’s clothing, and hang around in bars?
18/09/2012 at 17:25 kulik says:
Only if you’re ok.
18/09/2012 at 19:08 jrodman says:
This mechanic has not *yet* been added to the game.
18/09/2012 at 14:16 smeaa mario says:
Well, I am convinced. This one looks quite handsome and is bound to become more awesome upon implementation of more fluid animations (-some).
18/09/2012 at 14:21 Mr. Mister says:
It’s Canadian Guy from the webcomic “Manly Guys Doin’ Manly Things!” link to thepunchlineismachismo.com
18/09/2012 at 14:24 MrWolf says:
Love the look of this. Love the idea of this. Love what I can see of the implementation (though it does look a bit overwhelming in the details).
More than anything, I love that the developers are all Canadian and they are all wearing flannel in the group photo.
Also, in Amurika, we’re going to call this “Sang Freud”, so, you know, there’s that.
18/09/2012 at 14:54 Gap Gen says:
I guess calling it “Songfwa” in Anglophone countries could work.
18/09/2012 at 15:50 Hoaxfish says:
Sang Frodd
19/09/2012 at 12:16 Ninja Dodo says:
They should really just call it “Cold Blood” and get it over with, unless there are copyright issues there. Having a name that most of your players can’t pronounce is probably not advisable.
Title aside, really liking the look of this game.
18/09/2012 at 14:27 mrd says:
Ok absolutely love the look of that. Definitely keeping an eye out for this one.
18/09/2012 at 18:56 Warduke says:
Same here..looking great
18/09/2012 at 14:33 barichnikov says:
Just want to say that Sang-Froid in french does literally mean “cold blood” but it’s an expression that means “unwavering courage”. These lumberjacks have “sang-froid”!
18/09/2012 at 22:00 lionheart says:
Here in the UK at least, the phrase is well known enough that it shouldn’t really require an explanation. If they used it as the title of their game it’s also safe to assume the meaning is common knowledge in most of the English speaking world.
18/09/2012 at 23:06 Anabasis says:
Not to presume to speak for every single Anglophone in North America, but I don’t think it’s a particularly common phrase here. In my experience the term “cold blooded”in American English usually refers to cruelty. The concept of “cold blood= courageous” isn’t totally unfamiliar though, hence phrases like “he’s got ice water in his veins” and so forth.
19/09/2012 at 04:53 vinina6515 says:
Cool intro for that game also :
19/09/2012 at 14:29 barichnikov says:
That’s why I mentioned it, I had comments from others about cruelty :)
18/09/2012 at 14:33 Caiman says:
I stumbled across this on Greenlight the other day, and it’s one of those wonderful moments where you begin thinking “What rubbish is this that’s being foisted upon me?”, which is a thought never too far from your mind when trawling Greenlight, and suddenly realise you’ve found a gem. For some reason I absolutely love this and will be supporting it by throwing money in its general direction when it is released.
18/09/2012 at 15:17 Hoaxfish says:
Unfortunately, even when you find a gem, it’s still hard to distinguish it from the junk. The mix of good games with “indie” graphics, crap games with “AAA” screenshots, “ideas”, and a wholesale smear of vague information means I’ve often looked at apparent gems (according to other people) and not seem the merit.
That there is so much crap just reinforces the idea that what you’re looking at, at any specific time, is probably crap.
18/09/2012 at 14:43 matty_gibbon says:
I came here for a poem about trees! I demand satisfaction!
18/09/2012 at 17:26 smiler says:
I know a poem about a werewolf if that’s any compensation
A Boat by Richard Brautigan
O beautiful
was the werewolf
in his evil forest.
We took him
to the carnival
and he started
crying
when he saw
the Ferris wheel.
Electric
green and red tears
flowed down
his furry cheeks.
He looked
like a boat
out on the dark
water.
Feel any better now?
19/09/2012 at 05:53 wu wei says:
I know I am, the poem is fantastic, thank you for mentioning it.
18/09/2012 at 14:43 viibii says:
They have only 6% on Greenlight, it’s taking forever ;-) !
They need more vote!
link to steamcommunity.com
18/09/2012 at 15:17 iniudan says:
Already did my part quite a bit ago, actually on first day greenlight was up, guess I came to notice it easily for I am French Canadian like the dev, so for me it nice to see a game based on local folklore. =)
18/09/2012 at 19:15 jrodman says:
Me 2! It was one of the very few titles on greenlight that sold itself without appealing to my genre preferences.
18/09/2012 at 14:43 Hunchback says:
Looks awesome! Really love the art style, the idea, how it’s done… everything.
I hope they polish it well and it will definitely rock! Finally something fresh!
18/09/2012 at 14:48 Hoaxfish says:
The guys behind Castle Story endorsed this as well, which is how I ended up on their greenlight page.
18/09/2012 at 20:47 b0rsuk says:
In fact, devs of this game taught game design at university. They were Castle Story guys’ mentors.
18/09/2012 at 14:50 Sp4rkR4t says:
Found this on GreenLight earlier, it does look like it could be something very special and I hope it reaches the target.
18/09/2012 at 15:03 Superpat says:
Always excited to see indy’s from my homeland! Coop would be a good idea for this as well
18/09/2012 at 15:05 EPICTHEFAIL says:
Well, now i`ve got the Lumberjack Song looping through my head. Certainly considering this. These guys get a thumbs up.
18/09/2012 at 15:07 SuperNashwanPower says:
Watching this guy play it is almost poetic. I wish I had the patience for strategy games. Where can I download some?
18/09/2012 at 16:03 Jesse L says:
Agreed, it was a bit white-knuckle.
18/09/2012 at 16:15 Lilliput King says:
This looks a lot of fun, and I appreciate the 10-minutes-of-gameplay style trailer. Thumbs up from me, definitely.
18/09/2012 at 19:30 SuperNashwanPower says:
Agreed! Trailers should definitely include More Of This Sort Of Thing. The game just sells itself, admittedly in the hands of an expert player.
18/09/2012 at 16:20 Easy says:
How delightfully refreshing. I’m sold.
18/09/2012 at 16:40 demonalcohol says:
This game looks very well made with a style of it’s own. I love the style of this trailer as well, actually showing the gameplay through an example level instead of a CGI trailer or bad electronic music with CAPITAL LETTERED CATCH PHRASES!!!.
18/09/2012 at 17:37 judedeath says:
WEREFACE
18/09/2012 at 18:58 Warduke says:
WARFUR
18/09/2012 at 19:30 SuperNashwanPower says:
MADE BY ANDY WAR HOLE
18/09/2012 at 16:44 Freud says:
Folksey orcs must die.
18/09/2012 at 17:01 viibii says:
Cool intro for that game also : link to youtube.com
18/09/2012 at 17:24 GunnerMcCaffrey says:
Aaaaand First Nations stereotype within the first minute. Sorry, pass.
18/09/2012 at 19:15 darkath says:
Because the ol’ canadian lumberjack is not a big fat stereotype as well ?
18/09/2012 at 17:46 Reapy says:
I hope they tighten up the animation/fighting going down. I know they mentioned some improvements there, but the fight itself with the axe looked a bit sloppy which I think would turn me off the game.
Despite that the concept and theme is super awesome. It’s kinda like a more gritty ‘realistic’ take on orcs must die with a lot of their own variations etc. Really hope this game succeeds!
18/09/2012 at 18:52 hypercrisis says:
Everything about this is fantastic. Love it.
18/09/2012 at 22:34 sabrage says:
I wasn’t too impressed until I saw “Watchtower and zipline” and suddenly, instantly needed this game.
19/09/2012 at 00:19 Bobtree says:
If that was the in-game music, it’s a bit more jovial than I’d expect for this kind of subject matter.
19/09/2012 at 01:59 Canadave says:
As a Canadian, I’m not sure that I want to play a game that’s so close to my every day life.
19/09/2012 at 08:44 Arglebargle says:
How charming! Got me to go greenlight it immediately.
I wonder if they are going to have some form of monstrous Newfies??
19/09/2012 at 09:12 Edgar the Peaceful says:
This reminds me of the wonderful Siege of Sukiskyn, from B10 Night’s Dark Terror:
link to rpggeek.com