Nanotale – Typing Chronicles lives up to its fast-type hype

Put that carpal tunnel to good use.

At this years EGX Rezzed, there was one particular indie booth that very rarely had a computer screen free, and it was a game that involved typing really really fast. Nanotale – Typing Chronicles, developed by Fishing Cactus, has steadily grown its profile in the last few months. Everything we’ve heard has been pretty positive, but did the demo live up to the hype?

Here, you play as young archivist Rosalind, cataloguing the mysteries and life you encounter in this multicoloured, top-down world. But not all is well here. While your protagonist spends most of their time identifying samples of rock and fauna, enemies also bide their time amongst the leaves. To defeat them Rosalind uses basic spells that are enacted by typing out a particular spell word and then the name above the enemies head. As can be seen in the teaser trailer, this gets pretty stressful when enemies are numerous. If you’ve always wanted to learn to type a little faster, this game might be the perfect way to do it.

In the short demo shown at Rezzed, players got just a taster of what might be required from them in the full release. With the death system suspended for the purpose of the demo, journeying through the 3D realm was without the frustrations that may come when death is a real possibility. The balancing act starts when spells become more powerful, in turn draining your mana more quickly. The question is do you type to refill your mana or type to attack? Strategic thinking is required to get through these little moments, and we imagine they only get more numerous as the game progresses.

From first impressions, Nanotale – Typing Chronicles main mechanic and its beautiful environment look to be compelling enough that Fishing Cactus could be on to a real winner here, but it’s hard to tell whether or not frantic typing will be rewarded with an intriguing story. Nanotale is the second instalment of Fishing Cactus’s Typing Chronicles, which began with the very highly praised Epistory, so it’s certainly in capable hands. We can’t wait to see how the title develops.

Nanotale – Typing Chronicles is currently slated for release this year. You can find out more about it at its Steam page.