Éalú (Irish for "escape")[1] is a point-and-click stop motion adventure game created by Limerick, Ireland-based[2] indie game studio Beyond The Bark. It is a spiritual successor to the song "Tomcat Disposables", taken from the 2022 album "In case I make it," composed by American singer-songwriter Will Wood. The game was released for Windows on October 2, 2025.
| Éalú | |
|---|---|
 The banner of the game, as seen on Steam. | |
| Developer | Beyond The Bark |
| Publisher | Beyond The Bark |
| Engine | Unity |
| Platform | Windows |
| Release | October 2, 2025 |
| Genres | Point & click adventure game |
| Mode | Single-player |
Gameplay
editThe story is supposed to be an alternative, happier ending to "Tomcat Disposables" from Wood's album "In case I make it,".[‡ 1] The player character, a mechanical mouse, begins going through a maze that they must escape from.[3] Éalú's main gameplay mostly features point and click based puzzles.[4] There is a heavy emphasis on death, as there are many monsters that can kill the player[3] and even a tally for the number of deaths the player encounters.[1]
Development
editThe game was developed by a four-person team: Ivan Owen, a staff member at Beyond The Bark who contributed to design and writing; Benjamin Orr, who worked on design, programming, and writing; Will Wood, who composed the music and assisted with writing; and JT Paton, who served as the game's illustrator and promotional artist.[‡ 2][1] The game itself was made entirely using stop-motion animation, all hand animated by Ivan Owen.[3] It was inspired by the repetition of daily life.[1]
At the Irish film festival "Dingle Animation", Éalú was selected to be screened under the category "Game Trailers", along with 20 other games.[‡ 3] It was screened on March 22, 2025.[‡ 4] The game was scheduled for and promptly released on October 2, 2025 for Windows.[3][1]
It was originally created back in September of 2024 as an interactive story on TikTok, but the videos have now been taken down.[citation needed]
Reception
editReferences
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (October 2, 2025). "Explore a puppetmaker's fear of "dark or fruitless" digital conditioning in Éalú, a deceptively cute stop-motion maze game". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on October 10, 2025. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Éalú — A Hand Animated Stop-Motion Puzzle Adventure About Algorithmic Danger, Care and Escape". Games Press. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Litchfield, Ted (July 24, 2025). "My heart's already been stolen by this stop-motion adventure made out of wood and 'mostly in a garden shed'". PCGamer.
- 1 2 O'Rourke, Barry (October 23, 2025). "New games reviewed: Irish-made Éalú is a must-play puzzler". RTE. Archived from the original on October 23, 2025. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
- ↑ Ikuma, John. "Éalú – A Handcrafted Stop-Motion Puzzle Adventure". Stop Motion Magazine. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
Primary sources
In the text, these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):
- ↑ Will Wood (May 8, 2025). "Éalú - Gameplay Trailer - Latest Look". YouTube. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
- ↑ "Éalú on Steam". Archived from the original on 2025-05-10. Retrieved 2025-05-16.
- ↑ "Official Selection - Animation Dingle". 2 November 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ↑ beyondthebarkpuppets (March 22, 2025). "Hugh thank you to @cyanists for taking photos and a video of our trailer for our #computergame #éalú being screened at @animationdinglefestival today. @orr.benjamin". Instagram.
External links
edit- Éalú at Will Wood's website