Planned Release Date: Q1 2025

About This Game

A beautifully written narrative adventure about managing a travelling circus in WWI Europe.

Come And See The CIRCUS!

You play as young Johan, ringmaster dilettante, as he leads Madame Gloria’s Circo Sarabanda through ravaged lands.

While war breaks out all around you on a scale never seen before, you are tasked with keeping the circus afloat – until you find that mythical safe haven vagrants, outcasts and circus folk have been telling stories about since the beginning of time: Cuculia, the Kingdom of Birds.

Travel between towns and across borders, earn your keep by staging performances for a populace shaken by loss and grief, keep the troupe’s spirits up in dire times, protect them from danger – and make your way to Cuculia to last out the storm.

Be Amazed By A WORLD made of WORDS!

THE GREAT SASSANELLI’s evocative prose style offers a unique cast of fully realised NPCS, reams of sparkling dialogue and an abundance of carefully crafted, well-written stories set in a war-torn world, some light-hearted, some tragic, some both.

Find & Hire Performers of LEGENDARY SKILL!

In their travels, the player will meet a number of Gifted Performers they can hire – meticulously crafted NPCs with their own goals, interests, sympathies and aversions, each coming with their own special act, story arc and gameplay perks.

Behold stunning VISUALS like NEVER seen before!

Inspired by prominent art movements of the early 1900s, the unique, painterly artwork of THE GREAT SASSANELLI immerses you even deeper in the peculiar, magical-realist world of the game.

Face CHOICES both GREAT and SMALL!

Hundreds of choices allow the player to pace, branch, roleplay and control a multitude of enthralling storylines, many of them tough and morally complex (many quick and easy ones too, though).

Walk in the shoes of a REAL RINGMASTER!

In a lightweight economic sim closely entwined with the game’s main focus on its story, you’ll make narrative choices that control the ebb and flow of money, fame, employees and troupe morale, while always keeping on the move to find new audiences to entertain.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

The Great Sassanelli deals with themes of war and the hardships experienced by people living in Europe during World War One. They are also very occasional allusions to sexual encounters made by NPCs and the player character.