Themeborne Announces – Escape the Dark Castle Gets a Second Edition and a New Standalone Game, Escape the Dark Forest!

Themeborne has officially announced a new crowdfunding campaign on Gamefound for two exciting additions to their acclaimed Escape the Dark series: a Second Edition of Escape the Dark Castle and an all-new standalone game, Escape the Dark Forest!

Escape the Dark Castle: Second Edition – A Complete Overhaul
Celebrating a decade since its original release, the classic co-operative adventure game, Escape the Dark Castle, is getting a major rework to bring it in line with the high standards set by later games in the series.

Here’s what fans can expect from the all-new Second Edition:

A Complete Rework: Themeborne is emphasizing that this is not an ‘upgrade kit.’ Castle 2E is a total overhaul, with all components, art, stats, and dice being recreated.

Updated Mechanics: The game promises new and improved mechanics, including:

The introduction of Ranged Combat.

A new Stamina system designed to mitigate some of the luck-based elements.

Item Durability.

New Content & Balance: The new edition will feature greater variety in encounters, improved balance and difficulty scaling, and more Chapter and Item cards.

Incompatibility with 1st Edition: Due to the comprehensive nature of the rework, First Edition content and expansions are NOT compatible with the new Second Edition.

Escape the Dark Forest – A Standalone Continuation
For the first time, players will journey beyond the castle walls into the haunted woods with the new standalone game, Escape the Dark Forest.

Standalone Game: Escape the Dark Forest is a separate entry that can be played on its own without owning the Castle game.

New Mechanics: This game will introduce new twists to the core system, including Darkness and Fear mechanics.

Campaign Play: The games are designed to be played sequentially. Themeborne plans to release minor ‘campaign’ rules that allow players who successfully escape the Castle (2E) to continue their journey into the Forest with the same characters, creating a longer, connected experience.

Compatibility: Forest will use the same updated system as Castle 2E, making them partially compatible for campaign play. However, it is not compatible with the original First Edition of Escape the Dark Castle.

Gamefound Campaign Details

The crowdfunding campaign will launched on Gamefound. For backers of previous Themeborne projects, a discount will be offered. The campaign will offer both games in a ‘double pack’ pledge level, and both titles will also be available for individual purchase. Both new games are also confirmed to be available en español (in Spanish).

If you are a fan of the atmospheric, co-operative, black-and-white art style, dice-rolling adventure games of the Escape the Dark series, this campaign is one to watch!