Fantasy video game based on Welsh myth to launch

The game puts players in charge of the warrior king Pryderi who adventures through a magical world inspired by the Mabinogion

The developer behind the hit video games Assassin's Creed and Warhammer Online is to launch a new fantasy inspired by Welsh folklore.

Tales from the Mabinogion puts players in charge of a wandering ancient king whose lands are plagued by a cursed purple fog, with the story told in Welsh with English subtitles

The language that inspired JR Tolkien was "fitting" said designer Stevan Anastasoff's in comments on the game's release.

The Mabinogion is the collection of Welsh folk tales about fabled beasts and monsters that gave rise to the literary figures of King Arthur and Merlin.

It became an early example of the fantasy fiction genre when an English translation was published in 1838, based on 12th and 13th century manuscripts preserving an earlier oral tradition of pre-Christian Celtic mythology.

In the new video game version, "a vengeful sorcerer unleashes a cursed fog upon the ancient Welsh kingdom of Dyfed, a warrior-king finds himself entangled with beasts from the mythical otherworld of Annwn," explains the trailer.

"To save his realm, he embarks on a quest to uncover the origins of the curse - and unlock the secrets necessary to thwart its devastating grip."

"Welsh is a beautiful, ancient, musical, magical language - the language that inspired Tolkien's Sindarin, the language of the Elves," said Mr Anastasoff.

"There is no more fitting way to tell a fantasy story."

Collaborators include Warhammer writer Gav Thorpe and Rhys Iorwerth who translated the Welsh script narrated by Phil Rowe, whose other credits include Age Of Empires and Raid: Shadow Legends.

Welsh folk musician Oliver Wilson-Dickson created the score.