"TARAE: The Unbound," recently unveiled at Gamescom, is an Eastern dark fantasy action game developed by the Korean team Boundary and published by KRAFTON. The game's worldview is quite unique, blending cultural legends from China, Japan, and Korea, and weaving a distinctive pan-Eastern fantasy world based on concepts like the Six Paths of Reincarnation, karma, and causality.
Although the game is presented from a top-down perspective, it still delivers impressive visuals, including art design and combat presentations, leaving a deep impression.
As a brand-new title, questions about the origin of the game's concept design and the specific gaming experience it aims to deliver are likely to intrigue players. We were fortunate to conduct an exclusive interview with Ku In-young, CEO of the development studio Boundary, on-site at Gamescom.
Here are the details of the interview:
Q: "TARAE: The Unbound" is an Eastern dark fantasy world inspired by the Buddhist cosmology of the Six Paths of Reincarnation—this setting is very unique. Can you elaborate on the world-building process?
A:The starting point for "TARAE: The Unbound" is the Buddhist concept of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. We imagine life and death as threads woven together by karma and its causality, with countless sins intertwining to form a massive knot—the name "TARAE" stems from this imagery. Eastern folk tales like the Sanzu River and the Twin Spirit Trees also lay the foundation for this world.
At the same time, we reimagined East Asian culture from roughly the 15th to 17th centuries, drawing nourishment from the historical, visual, and philosophical traditions of Korea, China, Japan, and Mongolia. Our goal is to create a distinct Eastern dark fantasy world, different from the common Western medieval settings found in action RPGs.
Q: What are the motivations and image of "Agasa," the entity attempting to destroy the Wheel of Reincarnation?
A:The name "Agasa" originates from the Sanskrit word "Ākāśa," meaning "void" or "space" in Buddhist philosophy. True to its name, Agasa was initially an incomplete existence without even a physical form. It longed to gain life and enter reincarnation, but no divine power ever responded to this desire.
For endless ages, Agasa lay submerged at the bottom of the Sanzu River, filling its void with the thoughts and malice of the dead. Over time, its envy of those able to enter reincarnation twisted into intense hatred. Eventually, it came to believe that the world order that shut it out—reincarnation itself—was fundamentally wrong, becoming obsessed with destroying reincarnation to return Everythinggj to the "perfect" nothingness from which it originated.
Q: What kind of existence are the Seekers? Their journey transcends simple good vs. evil—how should this be interpreted?
A:On the surface, the Seekers embark on their journey to stop Agasa from destroying reincarnation. But their mission will gradually evolve into something that transcends simple good versus evil, and as the journey progresses, their way of viewing the world and themselves will begin to change.
The paths taken by the Seekers will always intersect deeply and eerily with Agasa in one way or another. As the story unfolds, these invisible connections will gradually surface, leading players to a twist that transcends traditional hero narratives.
Q: The game features Eastern mythological creatures like Dokkaebi (Korean goblins). What standards guide the selection of cultural elements?
A:Sticking to the core vision of Eastern dark fantasy, we prioritized selecting symbolic elements that are fresh and unique enough for Western players, while also providing deeper familiarity and immersion for Asian audiences.
We don't select a mythological element simply because it looks mysterious or exotic; instead, we seek out creatures and legends that inherently carry strange, dark stories capable of naturally fitting the game's somber tone, reinterpreting them through "TARAE: The Unbound's" own visual and narrative language.
Q: Pattern-based combat is a core keyword of this title, with over 80 bosses each having different attack patterns—what is the methodology for designing so many bosses?
A:The most important principle is ensuring that each boss's unique narrative origin is tightly interlocked with its core combat pattern.
To achieve this, the art and combat design teams collaborated from the earliest concept design stages. Before full production, we build a basic skeleton for each boss using placeholder data and conduct extensive combat tests.
Only when we were confident enough in the combat rhythm and the fun of learning and overcoming challenges did we move into full production with final data and art assets. It is this prototyping-first process that allows us to unify each boss's narrative identity with its gameplay, while maintaining consistent quality across over 80 boss battles.
Q: Every hit in "TARAE: The Unbound" has a real sense of weight—how is this heavy combat feel achieved through technology and design?
A:Even with a top-down perspective, we want every hit to feel impactful. Therefore, we have finely tuned the character attack frames and enemy hit reactions.
We also require players to strategically manage stamina—both sprinting and dodging consume stamina. If you execute a perfect dodge at the right moment, part of the consumed stamina is returned. These systems together make both offense and defense feel weightier, emphasizing the visceral satisfaction of physical movement.
Q: The contrast between large-scale crowd-clearing gameplay and the tension of boss battles creates a distinct rhythm change. How was this considered?
A:Our biggest consideration is managing player fatigue, creating emotional ups and downs throughout the experience. If the game demanded extreme focus throughout, players would become exhausted. Conversely, if it were merely constant crowd-clearing, it would quickly become monotonous.
In the wild, we speed up the pace and provide satisfaction by letting players sweep through large groups of enemies. This is then contrasted with boss battles that require high concentration and offer a heavier sense of accomplishment. We believe these two distinctly different rhythms complement each other, maximizing the cathartic feeling of an action game.
Q: How significant are the positional differences between the six classes? What is the strategy for balancing between classes?
A:The six classes in "TARAE: The Unbound" have clearly distinguished roles and playstyles, covering melee and ranged damage, large-area spells, and assassination-focused combat styles.
From a balance perspective, we don't want any class to have an overwhelming advantage by design alone—we want each class's potential and ceiling to be maximized through player builds and character customization.
Q: All six classes originate from real historical Eastern professions. Can you discuss the design inspiration and combat characteristics of each class separately?
A:These classes reinterpret real historical professions and traditions from East Asia within the game's dark fantasy setting, with each class having unique combat mechanics.
First is the War Ghost, inspired by Chinese martial artists who push their physical training to the limit, focusing on heavy combo attacks and explosive battle aura. The Feng Shui Master draws inspiration from Chinese Feng Shui traditions and practitioners who study the harmony between the universe and the natural environment, causing powerful area-of-effect damage by channeling the power of the Five Elements.
The Samurai and Kunoichi draw inspiration from Japanese history. The Samurai handles close-range damage, using three different kenjutsu stances, combining dignified presence with overwhelming martial prowess. The Kunoichi is a stealthy assassin, combining extreme mobility with precise ninjutsu.
The Tiger Hunter draws inspiration from tiger hunters of the Joseon Dynasty, specializing in ranged damage and making good use of gunpowder, traps, and animal summons. The Mudang draws inspiration from shamans in traditional Korean culture, fighting with unique mechanisms involving Sha, shamanistic rituals, and spirit possession.
Q: The Feng Shui Master and Mudang classes are very Eastern-themed. What are their skill mechanics like?
A:The Feng Shui Master possesses two skill sets, "Form" and "Harmony," both built around the power of the Five Elements. These skills do not operate in isolation; they interact with each other—altering effects or combining to create new, more destructive combinations.
The Mudang primarily uses spiritual power to perform skills centered around "Sha" (malevolent energy) and "Rituals." In combat, she absorbs the souls of the dead, consumes this energy, and releases explosive abilities through spirit possession, manifestation, and summoning, forming a cyclical combat mechanism.
Q: Are skill paths linear or do they have multiple branches? To what extent can players customize their builds?
A:"TARAE: The Unbound" does not adopt a skill tree structure where choosing one branch permanently locks off another. As characters level up, class skills are gradually unlocked, allowing players to freely choose which abilities to equip from the available skill pool based on the situation and their preferred playstyle.
Each skill also has various support techniques that can either enhance it or fundamentally change how it operates, allowing players to choose the options that best fit their build.
On top of this, players can combine these skills with support techniques, same-class traits, masteries, and the Yin-Yang system to create rich, deep, and highly personalized builds.
Q: In what specific aspects is the deep and highly personalized build construction reflected? What experiences can novice and hardcore players expect respectively?
A:We hope to provide meaningful growth choices early in the game, allowing players to create powerful and distinctive builds, while ensuring the system is friendly enough for new players just entering the genre. Each class has its own resources and combat mechanics, but in the full release, players will naturally master them through early progression and tutorials.
The demo at Gamescom started around level 30, skipping this learning curve, so some systems appeared more complex than intended. In the full release, we plan to improve tutorials, resource system guidance, and overall balance.
The story campaign focuses on narrative and physical action, while the endgame content unfolds deeper build construction and loot farming experiences.
Q: How does the Karma system work? Does it affect the story, combat, or character growth?
A:Karma is designed to expand its functionality as the game progresses.
In the narrative-focused story campaign, karma serves primarily as a core story concept permeating the entire world, guiding the arduous journey of the Seekers.
Once players enter the endgame, karma ceases to be just a narrative tool and becomes a key mechanic integrated into core content like character growth and loot farming.
Q: How are philosophical concepts like Yin-Yang, fate, and desire concretely expressed in gameplay?
A:These philosophical concepts are directly integrated into game systems and narrative. For example, Yin-Yang forms one of the core principles for character traits and build customization.
Meanwhile, the player's journey of "struggling within the endless cycle of karma" is designed to allow themes like fate and desire to be experienced through gameplay, rather than just explained through narrative exposition.
Q: Core members of Boundary previously created "The Thirteenth Moon." In what ways has "TARAE: The Unbound" inherited previous experiences?
A:It's not just about "The Thirteenth Moon"; we've brought the experience and know-how our developers accumulated across multiple action RPG projects into "TARAE: The Unbound."
Q: How do you assess the acceptance of the Eastern dark fantasy theme in the global market? What considerations have you made regarding cultural export?
A:There are already too many excellent action RPGs set in Western fantasy on the global market. Because of this, we believe the Eastern dark fantasy elements of "TARAE: The Unbound" will feel fresh and unique to global players.
We also noticed that as games and other media spread, global familiarity with Eastern cultural symbols is increasing—a positive sign indicating that some psychological barriers facing these themes have been lowered.
For a global audience, one of our most important considerations is intuitiveness and accessibility. We don't want to present complex Eastern philosophical and religious concepts in an overly heavy or academic manner; instead, we hope players (including Western players) can naturally understand them through the story and visual presentation, and first enjoy them as part of the genre experience.
Q: How has the collaboration with KRAFTON impacted the project?How has the collaboration impacted the project?
A:We found that KRAFTON shared our views highly regarding action RPGs and the direction we wanted to take the game. When we articulated our vision, they responded with strong resonance—this convinced us that both parties could work towards the same goal.
KRAFTON also helped us gather feedback through global player testing, allowing us to clearly see how the Eastern setting, characters, and gameplay of "TARAE: The Unbound" are received in different markets, and to incorporate this feedback into development.
Q: What is the core message you most wanted to convey to players during the first public reveal at Gamescom?
A:We hope players don't simply view "TARAE: The Unbound" as a game trapped in the familiar hack-and-slash formula of defeating hordes of enemies and grinding for gear, but rather as an action RPG offering a broader experience within the genre.
In this type of game, infinitely repeatable endgame content is sometimes treated as the sole destination, but we don't believe every player must treat the endgame as the only goal when playing "TARAE: The Unbound."
For some players, following the heavy dark fantasy narrative of "TARAE: The Unbound" to the end of the campaign can itself be a complete and worthwhile goal. We have invested significant effort into both narrative and action to ensure the story campaign stands on its own and is satisfying. Players who wish to delve deeper can then proceed to the endgame.
Ultimately, we hope everyone can enjoy "TARAE: The Unbound" in the way that suits them best.