Hela: Everything We Know

Have you ever wanted to play as a mouse in an open-world game? Well, Hela plans to fulfill that dream for you. The game offers you a whimsical adventure into a fantasy world. It not only lets you explore the world through the eyes of a rodent but also gives you a magical backpack you can use to fly. The game may still be in the early stages of development, yet we already know quite a ton about the story and gameplay. Read on to learn everything we know about Hela below.

What is Hela?

Hela is an upcoming third-person, open-world adventure game. It’ll put you in the shoes of a mouse and challenge you to brave through missions. The adventure seems to focus on charm and heartwarming storytelling. Your campaign will feature stunning Scandinavian vistas. Moreover, Scandinavian folklore will feature in the story. For your playthrough, you can get ready to solve puzzles, dive into exploration of an open-world setting, and brew magical potions. Your goal will be to collect ingredients in the environment to brew a healing potion that will cure a Witch who has fallen ill. As Steam phrases it, prepare for a “healing journey like no other!”

Story

Embark on a cozy adventure, walking in the shoes of a brave mouse. The world around you will be maximized in comparison to your tiny size. Still, you have no choice but to brave the challenges that come your way. You are the family of a witch who has taken ill. So, you set out to find the ingredients to brew the healing potion to save her life. Explore a Scandinavian world packed with wide-ranging quests, puzzles, and potions to brew. Each step in your “healing journey” will go a long way in helping your friend. While you can choose to play the game solo or with friends, you can look forward to a heartwarming journey filled with magic, friendship, and charm.

Gameplay

Hela’s gameplay will balance cozy exploration and adventure. You’ll head out and comb through vast open-world environments. Your missions will be rampant with charm and light-hearted gameplay. As you progress, you’ll interact with a thriving community of mice whose motivation is spreading care and love all around. Overall, the game’s Steam page promises “a game that warms the heart and soothes the soul.” Breaking the gameplay further down to the nitty-gritty, you can look forward to the following key features.

• Solve compelling puzzles
• Choose to play solo or with friends
• Experience dynamic weather patterns
• Unravel the story in any order you prefer
• Brew magical potions with the freedom to upgrade your skills
• Interaction with the environment will incorporate realistic physics
• Enjoy free-form exploration of an open-world village inspired by Scandinavian folklore
• Help the characters you run into, spreading kindness and feeling the healing impact of your actions
• Tap into the power of your magical backpack, which will provide the means to fly around using a grappling hook, collect ingredients, and interact with the environment

Development

Windup is currently developing Hela in partnership with Knights Peak. Windup is based in Sweden, with a team of industry veterans and promising talent. While Hela will be the studio’s debut title, it comes from the creators of the successful Unravel series, a physics-based, puzzle-platform game where players control a character made of a thread of yarn. The studio is a subsidiary of Kinda Brave Entertainment, with the upcoming game planned to be a part of the Kinda Brave franchise. Meanwhile, Knights Peak is a premium division of MY.GAMES is a leading European publisher based in Amsterdam. The upcoming game was first announced at the Gamescom 2024 event held in Germany. 

Martin Sahlin, Creative Director at Windup, spoke about the game, saying, “Hela is a game that aims to bring a joyful experience, while you explore this world that is deeply rooted in something that feels very authentic to our team and yet hopefully is novel for the bigger audience. We want to bring alive this playful and whimsical world that surrounds us but also make it feel earnest, heartfelt and ultimately weave a very meaningful story for our players”

Meanwhile, Eugenio Vitale, Vice President at Knights Peak adds, “I’m really excited we can empower the creative people behind Hela. Their previous games and what we’ve seen of Hela has so much charm and authenticity that I just had to work with them on our label. We share a lot of the same values when it comes to what makes good games and it’s a dream come true that we do our part bringing their next game to life.”

Trailer

Hela’s official teaser trailer is out now on YouTube. The trailer kicks off with a cute and tiny mouse. You see human glasses, suggesting the presence of human beings. Yet the mouse takes center stage, as the world opens up through its eyes. You’ll have a magical backpack that can shoot out a grappling hook you can use to glide across large distances or pick up valuable items. The world looks stunning, with a whimsical feel. It feels cozy, pushing you to explore its mix of real and fantasy elements.  

Release Date, Platforms, & Editions

Hela is slated to launch in the foreseeable future. While Steam states the game is “coming soon,” the trailer doesn’t reveal a concrete release date. It’s likely you may have to wait a while longer before getting your hands on the game. Still, you can add the game to your Steam wishlist to get a notification when it drops. At the moment, Hela is confirmed to launch on PC and consoles, including PlayStation 5. Other platforms may possibly be confirmed at a later date. The same goes for the editions, which are unconfirmed at this time. For the information still under wraps, feel free to follow the official social handle here to stay on top of any new updates.

So, what’s your take? Will you be grabbing a copy of Hela when it drops? Let us know over on our socials here.