August Turner November 22nd, 2025 - 9:00 AM
On Thursday, November 20, indie game fans on X witnessed the announcement of an exciting upcoming dungeon-crawler metroidvania from a Sweden-based independent game developer, Jamie Rowan. The project, titled Lelu, looks incredibly promising based on demo trailer footage alone; however, the recently rolled-out balance patches for this demo suggest that Rowan is making an active effort as a solo developer to cultivate a community around his project as gamers gradually discover and build excitement for his game.
Lelu Demo – OUT NOW!!
I’m so excited to finally share the demo with you all.
I’ve been working on this project for almost 2 years now, so it feels great to be able to put it out in the world!
⚙️ Available on Steam pic.twitter.com/FibVoRRgQa— Jamie (@jamierowan_) November 20, 2025
In Lelu, players take on the role of a sentient clockwork toy that yearns for freedom from its confinement in the abandoned toy factory. Navigating this labyrinth, Lelu will face numerous hostile engagements: clockwork titan guards, speeding conveyor belts, and brain-teasing puzzles, each set by the toy factory’s chief guardian, stand in the way of Lelu’s freedom. Combat gameplay sees Lelu dodging enemy attacks bullet hell style, knocking enemy projectile attacks back to their point of origin for massive damage with a well-timed parry. For smaller enemies, Lelu can be seen whacking enemies over the mechanical head with a trusty wrench. As players explore and uncover the game’s hidden abilities, exploration and possibly even combat may be subject to evolution. Demo trailer footage shows off one of the game’s primary unlockables, the grappling hook, which allows for quick, safe traversal over bottomless pits and treacherous spiked floors.
The infectious soundtrack teased in the game’s demo release announcement trailer, and Lelu’s aesthetically pleasing retro-inspired monochromatic pixel art style is right up many indie game fans’ alley. For those gamers who love games like Dodge Roll’s Enter the Gungeon, Billy Basso’s Animal Well, or the classic Legend of Zelda series dungeon crawlers, Jamie Rowen’s Lelu is right for you.
The official release date for Lelu has not been announced, as the game is still in an early stage of development. However, as of November 20, gamers can get their hands on a free-to-play demo version of the game for PC via Steam.
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