Last year’s Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is getting story-focused DLC in the form of Stray Gods: Orpheus, which will star the titular mythical bard rather than base game protagonist Grace. Coming back to earth for a new story, Orpheus will once again be played by Anthony Rapp, the American actor and singer best known for his performance in the original run of the musical Rent, the film version of the same show, and most recently (and to most of you, my fellow nerds) in Star Trek: Discovery.
Stray Gods: Orpheus will focus on the “finished” story of Orpheus after the original game, as Hermes returns him to the world of the living and is able to make choices free of the influence of the Fates. It’ll have six new original songs where, much like in the original, your story choices change the flow of lyrics and music mid-song.
“With [Hermes’] help, you’ll guide Orpheus through the depths of mortal decision making—who to date, what to hope for, what instrument to rock out on,” reads the plot description.
Last Year’s Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical was a bold attempt to marry the worlds of musical and visual novel. With the branching stories of a visual novel in mind, each musical number had to branch in its own way—after all, the story in a musical is told via song. It was made by Summerfall Studio, which is headed by veteran BioWare writer David Gaider and Australian industry vet Liam Esler. The unique experiment was pretty successful, earning an 81% in the PC Gamer Stray Gods review.
“I’ve played dozens of visual novels and narrative adventures in my time, and I’ve still never experienced anything like Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical,” said reviewer Mollie Taylor. She particularly called attention to the quality of acting among the all-star cast and the beautiful work that went into the lush, graphic-novel-style illustrations of each scene.
You can find Stray Gods: Orpheus on Steam and read the announcement there too. Stray Gods: Orpheus will release on June 27, 2024.
