Éalú

Éalú is a wordless point-and-click puzzle adventure about a wooden clockwork mouse trying to escape a stone-and-wood labyrinth. The mouse wakes in a cozy nest at the maze’s heart and must make its way toward the outer edges, relying on clever thinking, keen senses and hope despite past failures. The experience takes about 2 to 4 hours, depending on how deeply you explore.

The maze

The labyrinth holds locked doors, cryptic puzzles and lurking dangers. As you explore, you solve environmental puzzles, uncover clues, face dangerous encounters and discover the maze’s secrets and the story beneath them. You can also eat cheese.

A wordless story

Éalú tells its story through images and instrumental music. Its themes and mechanics center on the confusing, sometimes destructive nature of algorithm-driven behavioral loops, and the possibility of being drawn into or escaping them. The game is a spiritual sequel to Will Wood’s short film Tomcat Disposables, which provides backstory for the mouse.

Stop-motion craft

The game uses frame-by-frame photography of real sets, handcrafted props and a physical wooden mouse. More than 512 video clips were made by a single animator, then brought into Unity by one developer. Its music was composed and recorded for the game by a single composer, and its illustrations were drawn by hand.