Indie developer SkyGoblin has been working on the first chapter of The Journey Down for some time now. Originally developed as an old-school point-and-click adventure with retro-style art, development of the game shifted to a fully-voiced version with high-definition visuals. Now planned for release this spring on PC and Mac, SkyGoblin has released a brand new teaser trailer for Chapter 1.

After one look at The Journey Down, it's not surprising to discover that the developers are greatly inspired by one of the best adventure games of all time: Grim Fandango. More specifically, all of the characters in The Journey down are masked, and though they're clad with African-style masks, rather than befitting the "Day of the Dead," the headwear is expressive and emotive, giving the characters a lot of instant personality.

Of course, most adventure games live or die by the strength of their stories. If you'd like to see if SkyGoblin is on the right track in this regard, you can download the "retro" version of the game for free. Just bear in mind, things like fully-voiced characters, HD graphics, and an expanded story are only present in the upcoming release.

The Journey Down: Chapter 1 is planned for a Spring 2012 release on PC and Mac, but the developer also notes that Android and iOS version will follow shortly thereafter.