Just a Lullaby

Just a Lullaby is a 2D pixel-art game with a surreal narrative about six siblings alone in a castle for a single night, where alien rats have gathered for a reason you uncover through cutscenes. You manage resources, fight to survive and explore the castle, whose other enemies are products of experiments and dark magic driven by a manipulative presence within its walls. The story also reveals a secret about the family and Missy, an unpredictable ghostly girl whose identity you gradually discover.

The siblings

Each sibling has a supernatural power that you enhance with a special weapon tied to their needs, memories and passions:

• Mel: tissues enhance the viscous mucus from his large nose.
• Marcus: bow ties enhance the shockwave from his strange arm.
• Millie: flowers enhance her fiery tears.
• Maude: seashells enhance her powerful claws.
• Muriel: origami enhances her explosive teeth.
• Martin: scarves enhance his corrosive bandages. He has a distinct, unique space.

At the start of each level, Missy gives you your first quest and an unusual weapon. You can obtain three more enhancements by exploring the environment: hunt three monsters with green crowns to get bags of coins, then give the bags to the stern Vendor inside the mirrors. This earns a black key that lets you speak with the generous Falconer, found in ditches and portals in the ground. To receive the Falconer's enhancements, you must collect three keys guarded by another trio of golden-crowned monsters in the same outdoor area.

Fight and explore

You fight using food taken from the rats, who have stolen it, and can collect up to four extra lives from Mac the Kite, the Castle Spirit who protects the family. Traps, both hidden and in plain sight, lie along the way. Each level has a dungeon where you face skeletal rats and gather more food, defeat monsters, solve mini-puzzles and earn a final enhancement and a key. The key activates a portal leading to that level's final boss room, and each level has a different boss.

After defeating the boss, you receive the Mighty Cider. Give it to Missy, who appears in the room, and she grants you the ability to reach and free your next sibling. You are absorbed by that sibling, who is not yet tired, and continue the game as the new character. The castle contains a hundred unique monsters, alongside an original soundtrack and an art style that combines dark and humorous elements.