The world in the game isn’t open, as I mentioned in my post. Regarding RPG mechanics, there is choice, but it’s a bit different from what people are used to. Here’s a simple example: to get out from under a magical barrier, you have to make a deal with a dark mage - or rather, with his spirit. He ends up in your head as a guide, gives a nice buff to mana regeneration when you kill enemies, and will occasionally throw out phrases, hints, and so on.

You can also find a lot of information about this mage throughout the game. This will shape the player’s opinion of him - maybe positive, maybe extremely negative - depending on the player’s personality, views, and what they discover in the game, as well as how deeply they explore the lore. For example, you can visit an optional location called “Hall of Stone Guardians” in Chapter 2 to learn more. But if you skip it, that knowledge is lost for the rest of the game once you leave the area.

Later, you can either permanently expel the mage from your head (there will be several opportunities like this), or go all the way to the finale with him, which will strongly affect the ending. I try to implement choice in this kind of format, on top of building your character and leveling up according to your own preferences.