Sleep Herd, A Mystery Multiplayer Dandori Game, Announces Plans For Kickstarter

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MONTREAL, CANADA - Lamp Katze Studio, founded by Science and Media YouTube educator Junferno, reveals brand new details on in-development mystery game “Sleep Herd” through Kickstarter pre-launch page. The release date is to be announced soon.
 

See the pre-launch page here on Kickstarter.
 

Sleep Herd is a 2-4 player online multiplayer co-op dandori game inspired by the gameplay of Pikmin and Don't Starve Together. Resources, combat, and puzzles lie in wait across a cute and enchanting dark fantasy setting inspired by folklore, epics, ballets, Victorian literature, and the Laurentian wilderness. It features:
 

• A charming escape story with hidden rooms and witty dialogue uncovering the secrets of a mysterious realm and its residents

• Five surreal locations to be explored including an aristocratic mansion overrun with foxes and a nocturnal woodland library

• A herd of sheep spirits to be commanded and managed inspired by Pikmin

• A light mechanic to navigate the darkness inspired by Don't Starve Together

• Beautiful hand-painted artwork

• Electronic and orchestral multi-genre original soundtrack inspired by operettas, romantic music, Deltarune, and Celeste

• Four unique characters to play as in online multiplayer
   

In a sheep farm on the outskirts of a peaceful yarn town, four souls awaken as dolls in a bizarre plane of existence constructed from the dreams of the shepherd's daughter. You play as one of the dolls: Beep, Bo, Kovsky, or Tchai. 
 

You encounter Piper, a roaming puppet jester inhabiting the shallow space of the Dreamland, who offers to help figure out how to escape in exchange for exploring the dilapidated deep end.
 

Sleep Herd is a story-driven adventure puzzle game that borrows the concept of dandori from Pikmin, where the focus is on strategically organizing time and resources between exploration, combat, and progression to unlock more of the world.

Sheep Spirits are friends of Piper and the primary resource. You can direct them to move objects, break obstacles, and attack enemies.
 

Light is the secondary resource, which is needed to see, to interact with the world, and for sheep spirits to do your bidding. It runs out over time and must be replenished with fire you come across.

You begin with a Candle but can discover or unlock more sources of lights as you progress, including Candelabras, Lanterns, and Lamps which increase your capacity for sheep spirits. 

Light sources can be carried by hand or placed on the sheep. Placing them on sheep organizes the herd into smaller herds, allowing you to throw many sheep at once.

Mementos are special items that may reveal more information about the story and require sheep spirits to collect. Certain mementos may uncover previously blocked off paths or unlock interesting dialogue with Piper.

Exploration ends once the fire in the hearth dies out, in which you must return to Piper in preparation for another night. This may be extended by having the sheep collect Matchsticks.

Some inhabitants of the Dreamland may be aggressive, including Foxes that leap and steal sheep, Owls that target from a distance, and Bereavers: gigantic bear-beaver hybrids that crush multiple sheep at once

Beyond mellow pastures and brambly woods is the Dreamland: a labyrinth of vague memories shrouded in mysterious familiarity.

Sleep Herd is composed of three acts, with the first two acts composed of two chapters each, each of which start off in a new location.

An overgrown estate at the edge of the Dreamland. Grandeur is bleakened in darkness as the once illuminant gateway has since fallen to the kingdom of the animals.

An athenaeum in the canopy of the forgotten wing of the manor. Buried away from civilization, this forest of knowledge towers skyward on treelike bookshelves. Surveillant owls prey above lurking bereavers

The complete original soundtrack composed by musician woodphrog will venture through multiple genres in the avant-garde as an orchestral and electronic fusion fantasia.

https://youtu.be/iTTbZzSxX3Y?si=KP9amtGc4xSLFVjd 

Take a listen to another track by woodphrog, an eerie opening to the Manor Mouflon in tribute to Tchaikovsky's Sugar Plum Fairy:

https://youtu.be/-E_gQ-skixA?si=WyeXThvBGyiENMBc 

Immerse yourself in these whimsical tracks alongside self-produced sound design recorded and engineered by woodphrog. Some environmental and ambient sounds are recorded on-location in rural areas near Montreal and Saguenay in Quebec.

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Lamp Katze Studio is a video game studio based in Montreal founded by Science & Media YouTube educator Junferno alongside trusted colleagues.

Beginning as classmates at McGill University, Lamp Katze Studio is an all-Canadian team spread across Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, and Halifax.

The team confirmed that they do not and will not use generative AI in their workflow, including in the art, music, writing, and code.

See the game page on Steam.