This is a royal affair: the continuation of the "Zemsky Sobor" will tell about the end of the Time of Troubles

The Russian studio Cyberia Nova is preparing a sequel to the historical action game "Zemsky Sobor" — the game "Zemsky Sobor: The Decisive Choice", which received the support of the Institute for the Development of the Internet (IRI). The project will tell about the final stage of the Time of Troubles, introduce a large number of real historical characters into the plot, including Marina Mnishek, and show the events preceding Mikhail Romanov's election to the kingdom. The developers promise to preserve the historical authenticity of key events and make them part of a dynamic action adventure.

A new look at the events of the Troubles

"Zemsky Sobor. Decisive Choice" is a third—person historical adventure action game about the Time of Troubles and the events preceding Mikhail Romanov's election to the kingdom. The main character will once again be Kirsha the Cossack, familiar to the players from the first part.

Screenshot from the game "Zemsky Sobor"

Photo: Cyberia Nova

According to Sergey Russian, director of the Cyberia Nova studio, the conflict with ataman Ivan Zarutsky will be at the center of the plot. Together with Irena, he will lure Kirsha into a dangerous trap, and the hero himself will have to choose between saving his loved ones and completing tasks on which the fate of the state depends.

— The game will feature new mechanics, such as archery, and the pace of the narrative will be faster, — said Russian.

For the first time, several famous historical figures will appear in the new part. In addition to Zarutsky, the player will meet the crowned tsarina Marina Mnishek and other participants in the events of the early 17th century. At the same time, the developers use the "unreliable narrator" technique: many meetings and events will be shown through Kirsha's own perception — his ideas, rumors, and personal impressions.

Screenshot from the game "Zemsky Sobor"

Photo: Cyberia Nova

Historical events will remain unchanged — Mikhail Romanov's election will occur regardless of the player's actions — but local consequences of the choice will appear within the linear plot.

— Kirsha does not change the name of the future tsar, but it affects the price at which this historical result will be achieved. The world and individual factions will react to the player's actions, so the feeling of one's own participation in the events of the era will remain," Russian explained.

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History as a gaming experience

The first part was highly appreciated by VK Play users — about 8 points out of 10, recalled Andrey Voronkov, Deputy General Director of the IRI. He expressed the hope that the developers will be able to build on the success of the series in a new installment.

Screenshot from the game "Zemsky Sobor"

Photo: Cyberia Nova

It is more interesting to consider the sequel not as an attempt to create another major RPG, but as an example of how the team learns to work on mistakes, said Mikhail Lisetsky, director of the Gamedays game festival.

According to him, Cyberia Nova noticeably changed its approach after the "Troubles": it abandoned an overly stretched structure, made the narrative more compact, reduced monotonous movements between NPCs and focused on directing the adventure.

— It is more interesting to consider the "Zemsky Sobor" precisely in the context of the whole story of the "Troubles". It didn't become an event for the industry, but it turned out to be a good example of how developers can quickly fix bugs. As a result, the game stopped pretending to be a "Witcher" in a zip and became a more complete adventure, after which you really want to open Wikipedia," Lisetsky said.

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The expert believes that the main advantage of the project remains the historical era itself.

— The Time of Troubles is a virtually unexplored content Klondike. There is enough material here for dozens of films, TV series and games, and the "Decisive Choice" shows that the developers are ready to move in this direction. It's worth promoting such projects through the idea of a fascinating immersion in the era, and not through comparisons with the largest Western RPGs, because these are initially different audience expectations," Lisetsky added.

Screenshot from the game "Zemsky Sobor"

Photo: Cyberia Nova

Duncan MacLeod, CEO of the GONZO Cybersport computer club network, also considers the project an important example of how Russian developers can work with their own story through interactive storytelling, rather than turning the game into a "living encyclopedia."

According to him, the history of the Zemsky Sobor, political intrigues and the struggle for the throne provide enough material for a full-fledged adventure action, but the historical theme itself cannot compensate for the technical shortcomings.

— The main challenge for the Russian gaming industry is to learn how to make games that are interesting not only because they are "about our history." It seems to me that the Zemsky Sobor is more an important experiment and a step in this direction than the final answer to the question of what a Russian historical action should be," MacLeod concluded.

According to Sergey Russian, "Zemsky Sobor" and "Distemper", the studio's previous project, share the same historical era, but the difference in technology, approach to the plot and key mechanics makes it clear that these are different games. "Zemsky Sobor" has every reason to be considered a completely independent series, summed up the Russians.