Mighty Cast Releases Smartband-Enabled Visual Novel

With just a flick of your wrist, you can now cast spells and summon magic at will.

No, it’s not a fully functioning magic wand, but rather a new choose-your-own-adventure visual novel from Mighty Cast Inc., the creators of smartband Nex that allows you to truly immerse yourself in imaginative landscapes.

The novel is called The Mighty Maru and it’s the first independent game released by the Montreal-based Mighty Cast for their Nex Band. The reader—or wearer, one might say—becomes a member of a secret rebellion society gifted with a magical bracelet, with the goal of freeing their true love from imprisonment. The reader must solve mini-games and use the bracelet to unlock ‘new powers’ and choices before the novel’s figurative sundown.

Mighty Cast was awarded over $1 million four years ago from the Canadian Media Fund to create The Mighty Maru. The Nex was actually created to go along with the new story as a sort of necessary companion.

“Nex was born out of a creative story world which is what makes it unique in wearables,” Mighty Cast CEO Adam Adelman said in a release. “We wanted to share this experience with our community and allow it to be played for free whether you have a Nex Band or not.”

You can download The Mighty Maru for free right now in both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. You can follow along without a Nex, but of course it will be a better experience if you get one. A new Nex will run you about $80 USD.

Mighty Cast’s goal with its wearable smart band is to allow users to create their own customized experience and control the world around them with a single touch. They do this through their “When/Do” platform, where users can create or hack a personalized service in seconds, whether it be controlling Spotify, opening a garage door or even notifying you every time the Blue Jays score a run.