The Island of Crossed Destinies is a historical murder mystery based on conversation and exploration. It’s chiefly inspired by the flamboyant world of Emilio Salgari’s nautical novels, and by Italian classic adventure comics, such as Corto Maltese.

1853: Captain Thomas Marlowe, an agent of the Honourable East India Company, is washed ashore on a small island off the coast of Borneo. His ship has been sunk by pirates. He is physically unscathed, but traumatized and amnesiac. He hears voices in his head.

We learn he has been sent from London to shine some light on the murder of one colonel Metcalfe, commander of the British fort on the island, and the related disappearance of a certain priceless diamond from the officer’s safe. The locals whisper a legendary Pirate Prince could be responsible…

Guide the Captain in a multi-layer investigation: chase the killer, the diamond and the ghosts of your own past. Interrogate, seduce or intimidate your suspects. Connect the clues in your Mind Gallery to open new conversation options and delve deeper into the secret lives of the island’s people. Will you follow orders and pursue your mission like a good Company man, or will you carve your own path through the jungle?

Features:

Branching dialogues and multiple endings

Language barriers and lost-in-translations

Old-school watercolor visuals

A cold(ish)-case investigation

Character building based on the Major Arcana

The Mind Gallery, i.e. a 19th-century version of the Mind Palace/Map/Archive

Game hints courtesy of famous sleuths and infamous villains

A classic amnesiac detective

Literal and metaphorical tigers

A pinch of noir (because noir goes with everything)

A pinch of romance (because it goes with noir)