The Mystery of Oak Island unearthed on Kickstarter

Written by Jack Allin — May 17, 2014 at 14:12

If ever there was a real-world setting just begging for its own adventure game, it's Canada's Oak Island, home to the famed "Money Pit" and its centuries-old legend of hidden treasure protected by deadly traps. Filling that void (figuratively speaking) is Visionaire Studio's upcoming The Mystery of Oak Island, currently seeking treasure of a more tangible kind on Kickstarter.

The game casts players in a "minimum" of three different roles across various time periods in the island's history. The present day story will see you "get sucked into the ominous tale of Oak Island with the support of your girlfriend, Ann, who is a student of literature at Oxford University. Together you begin to uncover the secrets of Oak Island, and in doing so, put yourselves in grave danger." While no specific details have yet been revealed about the trials that await, the developers promise that "Oak Island will not divulge its secrets without sacrifice. Several treasure hunters and other interested parties vie for its hidden secrets, besieged by horrific traps and terrifying guards."

As seen in the early screenshots and Kickstarter pitch video, The Mystery of Oak Island is a classic-styled, third-person, point-and-click adventure that includes high resolution graphics and a full orchestral soundtrack. Each of the three playable characters will have "their own special abilities and unique personality traits", and dialogue, inventory puzzles, and exploration will comprise the bulk of the game's projected 10-20 hour game time (depending on the level of funding).

Best known outside of Germany for the creation of the Visionaire engine powering games like Daedalic's Deponia and Dark Eye series, the team behind The Mystery of Oak Island are no strangers to game-making themselves, having worked for years on the highly-acclaimed fan sequel Zak McKracken Between Time and Space. For now the game is available only in German, but English gamers will soon get to enjoy it as well when a "Director's Cut" is released later this year, absolutely free.

Since sales of Zak certainly won't help finance their current project, the developers have turned to Kickstarter to crowdfund the game, seeking $100,000 by June 12th. The game is being designed for PC, Mac, Linux, and iOS and Android devices, and could be completed as early as the end of 2015. A limited time "early bird" minimum pledge of $19 will earn backers a DRM-free downloadable copy of the game.

To learn more about The Mystery of Oak Island and to contribute to the fundraising campaign, visit the Kickstarter page for full details. You can also vote for the game on Steam Greenlight.