Éalú

Éalú is an award winning, 2 to 4 hour long, meditative experience, depending on how deeply you explore the maze, focused on physical craft and reflection - made by a small, independent team of artists. It's best defined as a highly interactive, silent film set to a gorgeous instrumental score.

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In a cozy, quiet nest at the heart of a stone-and-wood labyrinth, a clockwork mouse sleeps — and dreams of the outside world.

When it awakens, the only way forward is through. To escape, the mouse must rely on clever thinking, keen senses, and hope — despite past failures. The maze is filled with locked doors, cryptic puzzles, and lurking dangers. But maybe, this time, freedom is possible.

Rock Paper Shotgun's Edwin Evans-Thirwell wrote "It's a lovely-looking thing - a 'true stop-motion game' "

PC Gamer's Ted Litchfield wrote, on previewing Éalú, that it's

"...Somewhat unsettling, like a cross between Myst and Wallace and Gromit⁠—cozy, but also lonely, with flashes of something sinister here and there."

"...I think Beyond the Bark is cooking with a really special, singular atmosphere."

Heybox / 不羁猫探索队 scored Éalú 4/4 and remarked

"The strongest thematic unity of any indie I played this season… its handcrafted stop-motion quality simply cannot be replicated in 3D."

Éalú is a Point & Click Puzzle/Adventure Where You:

• Guide a wooden, clockwork mouse from the maze’s center to its outer edges.

• Solve environmental puzzles, uncover clues, and have dangerous encounters.

• Eat cheese!

• Discover the secrets of the maze — and the story hidden beneath it.

Background

Éalú is a spiritual sequel to "Tomcat Disposables" by Will Wood. If you're keen to know more, said short film can be seen by searching for Tomcat Disposables on YouTube, & gives backstory for our beloved mouse. The themes which inspired our game & its mechanics center on the confusing, sometimes destructive nature of algorithm driven behavioral loops, & the potential to be drawn in by or escape them.

An Artistic Experience Lovingly Made by a Tiny Team

As mentioned at the top, based on playtests we anticipate that, for most players, Éalú will be a focused 2 to 4 hour long experience. We put a lot of thought, time & care into our wordless story & it's themes which are expressed in tandem with phenomenal music, all with a goal of creating the ability to control a character in a gorgeous silent film.

Éalú is true, old-school stop-motion. Every animation was captured via photography frame-by-frame using real sets, hand-crafted props, and a physical wooden mouse. Over 512 video clips were painstakingly made by a single animator — mostly in a garden shed — and brought to life in Unity by one developer carefully ensuring that each movement flowed into the next.

All of the music was composed and recorded specifically for this artistic work by a single composer, and every illustration was drawn by hand.

Éalú was made with no budget & no crowdfunding. Just 4 people passionate about the project:

• Ivan Owen of Beyond the Bark- Concept, design, animation & writing

• Benjamin Orr- Design, Unity development & writing…