The Folklore and Legends Behind Shardana

Sardinian folklore does not scare you with giant monsters. It scares you with things that are close: a doorway in the rock, a voice at night, a neighbour who greets you differently today. Shardana tries to play on exactly that.

The Janas

In Sardinian tradition, the Janas are small fairy women who live in the domus de janas, tombs cut into the rock. They weave in the dark, guard treasures, and do not like people who enter uninvited. On Nura their lights drift out of the tomb doorways like fireflies that are not fireflies. Following them can take you underground, into the Realm of the Janas; not all of them are friendly, and some will laugh at you.

Bobbotti

Every Sardinian child has heard of a bogeyman. On Nura he is called Bobbotti and he lives in a cave behind a wooden gate. You never see him by day. At night you only see two red eyes. Bring him an offering and he may ask something of you in return: his errands start in the demo.

Sa Mere and the spirits

The game also has other presences drawn from Sardinian legends, which you meet as you play.

Masks and dance

The cowbells of the Mamuthones are one of the most recognisable sounds in Sardinia. In the village of Nura they keep time for the circle dance, which you actually dance, hand in hand with the villagers. Alongside it there is the shouted finger game of morra, the three-reed launeddas pipes and the spinning top: traditions you do not watch in this game, you take part in them.

Why it works in a co-op horror

Because the threat does not come from outside. The monster is someone you spoke to this morning, who knows your name and where you sleep. Folklore provides the frame: stories everyone in the village knows, rules they follow without explaining, places nobody goes after dark. What is left to the players is the uncomfortable part: deciding whom to trust.

The illustrations in this article are concept art, not in-game images. To see the game as it is, visit the gallery, or go straight to the free demo on Steam.