Hela Revealed at Gamescom

Amongst the slate of new Gamescom reveals came an exciting announcement from Knights Peak and Windup Games a brand new studio. Windup Games consists of many developers from the team behind the game Unravel published by EA, which gained quite a following and critical praise after its 2016 release. Hela is the first game from the team and looks to capture a similar feel to Unravel with physics-based platforming comprising the core gameplay. The game also maintains the team’s unique 3d graphical style which seeks to present computer-generated elements of photo-realism within backgrounds.

Knight’s Peak Interactive will publish the game and handle its global distribution. Their previous collaborations have produced titles such as Owlcat Games’ Pathfinder: Kingmaker, Starship Troopers: Extermination an FPS survival game from Offworld based on the satirical science fiction film, and the upcoming dark fantasy platformer Mandragora from Primal Game Studio. Taking inspiration from Scandinavian Folklore, Hela deposits you into an open world right out of a storybook rather than a version of the afterlife you might expect given the name.

You play as mice that traverse the land utilizing magical backpacks to overcome obstacles. Martin Sahlin, the creative director of Windup Games had this to say in regards to the upcoming project. “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.” Hela is currently in development for both PC and consoles though there is no word on an official release date as of now. However, Knight’s Peak has promised that more details are coming soon through the official website.