Yesterday, developer Breadcrumb Interactive's folktale RPG, Yaga, went live on Square Enix Collective. 

Yaga is an action RPG with a narrative that adapts to your choices, and where you will explore the enchanted world of slavic culture and folklore. In it you play as a one-handed blacksmith caught between the jealous Tzar giving impossible tasks and the ancient Witch protecting the supernatural world.

The game starts in a quiet village, where peasants are busy taking care of the fields and farms, and keeping their children away from the swamps. They are ordinary people leading ordinary lives. But then there is Ivan -- who you play -- the village's blacksmith, who works hard on his forge all day, preparing to go on yet another impossible quest given by the Tzar. Little does Ivan know that all the tasks he receives from Tzar threaten to destroy the ancient spirits and magical creatures that roam the world, which is why and how Ivan runs into Baba Yaga, the ancient Witch who protects the spirits and magical creatures. Rather than simply destroying Ivan, Baba Yaga tries to manipulate him to avoid disaster and to achieve her goals. According to Breadcrumb Interactive, the game's story is about greed, manipulation, and dealing with impossible odds.

The game is set in the universe of Slavic folktales, in the 14th century: filled with pagan belief, house spirits, unclean creatures, magic, and superposition. As in most folktales, the mood of the world is light-hearted.

As for the gameplay, according to the Breadcrumb Interactive, Yaga contains a skill-based combat system with roguelike principles. The developer cites games like Bastion and Hyper Light Drifter as inspirations for its combat mechanics and action; 80 Days as inspiration for its dialogue and choices system; Binding of Issac as inspiration for its large diversity between runs and secrets; and Gucamelee as inspiration for the treatment of a unique and special culture.

Yaga uses procedural generation to create a fresh experience each time you start a new playthrough. Unlike many other roguelikes, there is no permadeath.

The game is divided up into different chapters, each with a large number of quests, characters, and player choices. To adapt to these choices, the game tracks the character's Reputation and Crossroad Choices. Reputation is gained and lost by interacting with the world's inhabitants. Thus, aggressive heroes get more opportunities to fight, while kind heroes get more chances to help out the game's characters.

Crossroads, as described by Breadcrumb Interactive, are a sacred and magical place in slavic folklore, where all places and directions meet, and all time fades away. In Yaga, they enable the players to have a direct impact on the game. Each crossroads allows players to make a choice about the next chapters in the story.

You can read more about the game -- including about its art, characters, character progression, and more -- here.

Yaga is in development for PC and Xbox One, and with an estimated release date end of 2017. The game is also coming to Mac and Linux sometime after the PC and Xbox One release. Additionally, the developer has said depending on interest -- and on the success of its upcoming (no date was given) Kickstarter -- the game may also come to PS4, PS Vita, and Nintendo Switch as well.

As you may have noticed the game is being published by Square Enix Collective. For those that don’t know: Square Enix Collective is a curated platform that has been created to act as a service provider to independent developers, either through helping build a community, helping to raise funds via Kickstarter, or with support for releasing games.

Developers who work with SEC always retain the IP and creative control. Every week SEC posts a new pitch to its website from a developer somewhere around the world. Beyond eyeballs and support, these teams are said to be looking for feedback on what works, what doesn’t, and on whether or not the game should pursue a Kickstarter. SEC specifically uses the feedback and votes as a guide to which projects it wants to support.

Accompanying the launch on Square Enix Collective is a new trailer for the game — you can check it out below: