Leaving Lyndow is a gorgeous adventure game set in the Eastshade universe

As Chris reported last year, Eastshade is an in-development exploration game whereby you fill the shoes of a travelling painter, capturing the world around you as go and selling your artwork to other characters in exchange for information and items. Release is "still a ways off", so says studio founder Danny Weinbaum in an update video, however he and his studio are launching spin-off Leaving Lyndow—a more linear stand-alone adventure game, set in the Eastshade universe.  

That update is worth watching in its entirety, in order to see where the devs are coming from: 

Billed as a "short, first-person exploration adventure" game, Leaving Lyndow is no less gorgeous than the little we've seen from older sibling Eastshade, and can be completed in one sitting according to its Steam page. 

As university graduate Clara, you're tasked with preparing yourself for a "journey [you] may not return from", and as such must visit your favourite places, say your goodbyes, and learn a little more about the world you're about to leave behind. 

Here's how some of that looks in motion: 

As Weinbaum details above, Leaving Lyndow isn't quite a demo of what's to come but instead serves to give a taste of the atmosphere and world of Eastshade. He and his team are using the project as a means of raising extra funds for the development of Eastshade, deciding against siding with a publisher, or crowdfunding. "Instead of selling people a promise, we could sell you an actual game," says Weinbaum. 

If you like what you see, Leaving Lyndow is due on Steam, and a selection of other retailers on February 8.