The Zone: Stalker Stories blends exploration, card battles and an RPG

Currently in development with an early demo due during the Steam Game Festival, The Zone: Stalker Stories sounds like a pretty special blend of gameplay features.

Illuminated Games, whose last games The Next World and Golem Creation Kit also supported Linux, say they're directly inspired by Slay the Spire, S.T.A.L.K.E.R and Darkest Dungeon with The Zone aiming to blend together exploration, card battles and RPG elements, with a rich story crafted by industry veterans (Mount & Blade, The Next World). Not only is it currently planned to release for Linux, I spoke to Illuminated Games who confirmed that they will have a "pre-alpha" demo available during the Steam Game Festival Summer Edition which starts on June 9.

Screenshots (click for more):

Planned Features:

• Gorgeous hand-drawn art
• Gripping story told in slick visual novel style
• A wonderul, dangerous world to explore
• Deep inventory management - Assemble your deck and abilities by carefully choosing your equipment, even changing everything in mid-combat
• Hundreds of different items and abilities to mix and create your perfect playstyle

You can follow The Zone on Steam.