The team here at Timberline Studio is hard at work on Beastro, and I am thrilled to give you a little more insight about what we’ve been working on. Beastro takes place in Palo Pori, a peaceful village of artisans and tastemakers. But danger simmers just beyond its protective wall, where ravenous monsters from another realm have begun to creep into the world.
You play as Panko, a young, gifted chef who has been helping run the local eatery. When Panko’s mentor mysteriously disappears, a stranger arrives with warnings of the threats gathering outside the village. Suddenly, Panko must shoulder far more responsibility than expected, managing the restaurant, gathering ingredients, tending to patrons, and supporting the brave Caretakers as they seek to save the world.
Flavorful Fare
Beastro’s core mechanics are guided by flavor: bitter, salty, sour, sweet, and umami. These flavors shape entire regions, influence the creatures and monsters inhabiting the wilds, and serve as the foundation for our card gameplay, with each flavor being a card suit.
Stock your pantry with the ingredients you can gather, farm, and fish throughout town. When you’re feeling ready, open the restaurant and feed the visiting Caretaker, preparing them for their daily venture.
A Tasty Deck
In Beastro, once you’ve filled the belly of a Caretaker, they’ll embark on a venture and return to tell their tale of battles and discovery. Every night, you’ll end your day at the tea house, listening to the tales and discovering the progress the Caretakers made that day. These stories take shape in the form of a paper puppet show, breathing life into every encounter and letting you influence what happened earlier that day. It’s up to you to help repel the vicious creatures and find who unleashed these menaces on the world.
Every monstrous encounter in the puppet theater takes the form of a turn-based battle, inspired by traditional trick-taking card games. Monsters set the flavor of the round (or trick), and you’ll look to play compatible flavor cards. If you overpower the monster, you’ll deal damage to your opponents and maybe perform a special ability too.
Your deck is comprised entirely of flavor cards from the exact ingredients and recipes you used during the Mise en Place phase. You’ll find yourself wielding salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami cards, each with its own value. And every meal you cook is a chance to unlock new cards, special abilities, and combinations that will let you delve deeper into the wilds. Remember those bitter ingredients? Many of them offer the chance to convert your damage to health. Maybe add a marshroom to your meal so you can put the monster to sleep, so it cannot play a card.
But watch out, you’re not the only one wielding flavor magic. The monsters all have their own special abilities, too. And if you’re not careful, you might find yourself with a handful of burned-up cards, cutting their power in half!
A Hearty Thank You
We’re so grateful to have you join us on this journey. We have more to share, but for now, check out our new Gameplay Trailer for a taste of what’s to come!
Beastro
Timberline Studios