Today, developer and publisher Daedalic Entertainment narrowed down the release of its medieval 2D interactive thriller, Ken Follett’s: The Pillars of Earth, which is the game-adaption of the world-bestselling book The Pillars of the Earth, from "summer 2017" to sometime in August. At least, that's when Part 1 will be releasing.

Coming to PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Mac, and Linux, Ken Follett’s: The Pillars of Earth 2D is a point and click adventure, a genre that Daedalic has become quite renowned for.

For the game, the German-based development team took the 1200 page book as the blueprint, and turned into into a nonlinear storyline with 3 playable main characters. As mentioned above, only the first part of the game is poised to release this summer. Part 2 and Part 3 -- each three books contains seven chapters -- will be released later. If you buy Part 1, then you automatically get Part 2 and Part 3 when they come out. More information on Part 2 and Part 3 will be shared at Gamescom later this year.

Matt Kempke and Kevin Mentz, both author and game designer, added the following:

“We took the source material completely apart and reassembled it as a unique experience for the player. We kept the core story but of course a game gives us more freedom to add decision-making and interaction.”

In the game, players will develop a "deep emotional connection" with the characters -- or at least that's the hope -- while controlling their way through a "dense and thrilling story." Notably, the game lets players change events from the novel as well as influence the fate of its characters.

Here's an overview of the game via Daedalic:

Set in 12th century England, a time of great poverty and war, “The Pillars of the Earth” takes place in the fictional town of Kingsbridge as it begins the construction of a Cathedral to assure wealth and security for its people. Philip, a monk, becomes the prior of Kingsbridge abbey. Jack, an ambitious architect, is commissioned to build the village cathedral. Aliena and her younger brother Richard, have to survive on their own; after their father, the Earl of Shiring, is incarcerated and murdered. Meanwhile, Prior Philip's rivals, Bishop Waleran and William Hamleigh, a vengeful noble rejected by Aliena, see the town and its rise to importance as a thorn in their flesh. They want to see Kingsbridge burn.

Features

  • A thousand-page novel, adapted as a videogame across 21 chapters

  • Change events from the novel and influence the fates of its characters

  • Faithful rendition of the 12th century with over 200 hand painted backgrounds

  • Three main playable protagonists, with two extra playable characters

  • Orchestral soundtrack by the FILMharmonic Orchestra, Prague

As you may know, the original novel by Ken Follett has sold more than 26 million copies to date. The writers of the game are said to be working closely with Ken Follet. Further, according to Daedalic, this has been the biggest and most ambitious project it has taken on to date.

A price-point still has not been divulged. Below, you can check out a gallery of screenshots: