Never thought it takes so much courage to announce your beloved project. We’ve postponed it many times, but, looking outside from the window and witnessing such volatile times, we decided that it’s time to come out of the shadows and talk about what we are working on. Introducing stealth action indie game—Legacy 1917.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN . . .

The first concept of the game appeared in 2019. Our story takes place in a fictional Empire which is being destroyed by ongoing war with a neighbor and internal political conflict. The game differs from most war-themed video games by focusing on the stealth experience rather than conventional combat. Violence and chaos rules all over the dying Empire. While working on the game scenario, we were inspired by the historical events of the beginning of 20th Century. We decided to avoid direct historical references but we were definitely inspired by real events.

The start of development was, to put it mildly, far from ideal, but within a few months we found people who liked the idea. This is how the Bear Smile team was born.

At this point, prototypes and concept art began popping out right out of the oven. Here are some super-early stage concepts and gameplay video:

Early concept art

Early concept art

Early concept art

Further development and new ideas led to a radical change in the gameplay and a deep reworking of the scenario. At some point, only the name of the protagonist and the setting remained. At the beginning of 2020, the final concept was aligned and we began to move step by step towards the release.

2022 and the box of chocolates 

 When we launched our project we knew that the setting is exotic — there are just a few successful and high-quality indie games in similar settings. And this created quite understandable challenges for project promotion. But we could not expect the hellstorm at the end of winter 2022. 

Geopolitics hit us like a high-speed train a sleeping bird. But we pulled ourselves together and decided that it would not be the end. Our game is telling a story about the madness of revolution, about the choices of people to stay good even during the most nightmarish times, about the fact that one can always deny violence and not to succumb to the crowd’s brainwashing. And we intend to tell the world our story.

What is Legacy 1917 about?

 Legacy 1917 is an action-adventure stealth game. The player will travel through a war-torn empire, where society is split and there is no unity. At the center of the story is a conflict between two brothers: the younger brother joins the anarchists and renounces his status and family while his older brother, Peter, serves as an officer in the Imperial Army. The revolution finds him in the trenches of the war. He still believes in a brighter future — even when his younger brother, succumbing to new trends, commits atrocities. Making his way through this new reality, which until recently seemed unimaginable, Peter is on a journey home trying to protect others from his brother’s madness.

Game Features 

 During development, we are inspired by such classic indie blockbusters as Plague Tale: Innocence, Death’s Door and Commandos, but at the same time we create our own unique style and ideas:

• Hide in multilevel environments, use items to distract and confuse enemies, solve puzzles by analyzing one’s surroundings.
• Explore various locations and interact with NPCs who’s unique stories add to the immersive setting of the adventure.
• This grim post-war environment of the revolution depicting real locations becomes a perfect platform to tell the story of the rivalling brothers and the people who were looking to rebuild their lives following a clash of epochs.
• Distinct visuals with original art for each level that were inspired by classical and contemporary artists enhance the immersive effect the adventure’s emotional storytelling provides.
• An original soundtrack inspired by classical music from the beginning of XXth century sends players off into the intense atmosphere of the revolution-torn country.

Current gameplay screenshot

Current gameplay screenshot

Current gameplay screenshot

Current gameplay screenshot

Current gameplay screenshot

Current gameplay screenshot

We believe that all these features will allow us to make an immersive and exciting game that will give everyone the opportunity to feel the ruthlessness of the revolution and the human drama.

To be continued...