In XEL, players will explore a lush, vibrant world filled with gorgeous — and occasionally deadly — biomes. Solve intricate puzzles, explore mysterious dungeons, and battle merciless robots and exotic wildlife. Inspired by the Zelda series, XEL will take players through an epic and heartwarming story filled with fantastical settings and memorable characters set to an emotionally powerful soundtrack from composer Gidon Wolff.

XELfollows an amnesiac protagonist named Reid, who finds herself shipwrecked on an enigmatic world with no memory of her previous life. Players will join Reid as she sets out to get to the bottom of the mystery behind this bizarre land filled with secrets, puzzles, and a not-so-stable sense of time. Explore a beautiful overworld dotted with challenging dungeons in a  classic, top-down, 3D action-adventure format in a rich, vivid palette. During her quest, Reid will meet charming, enduring characters, engage in thrilling combat, and of course, find and upgrade a whole bevy of nifty weapons, items, gadgets, and moves — some of which may help her jump through space and time.

As Reid delves deeper into the mysteries surrounding XEL, she discovers an endless cycle of peril. Will she be able to break free from it and what will it take?

In today’s developer diaries, Game Director Maurice Hagelstein and Game Designer Tom Erenstein take us behind the scenes with a look at the character creation process the studio went through before landing on the style we see today, as well as discussing their gameplay design philosophy and giving us a brief but tantalizing glimpse of what players can expect when the game drops next year.

“We’re really proud of XEL; we set out to create a game that hits all the beats of a classic action-adventure title, like exploring a mysterious world with an eccentric protagonist,” said Maurice Hagelstein, Game Director at Tiny Roar. “We’ve innovated a lot on the typical formula and can’t wait for players to dive in and start digging into the story of Reid and her journey.”

XEL follows an amnesiac protagonist named Reid, who finds herself shipwrecked on an enigmatic planet with no memory of her previous life. Players will join Reid as she sets out to get to the bottom of the mystery behind this bizarre land filled with secrets, puzzles, and a not-so-stable sense of time. Explore a beautiful overworld dotted with challenging dungeons in a classic, top-down, 3D action-adventure format steeped in a rich, vivid palette. During her quest, Reid will meet charming, enduring characters, engage in thrilling combat, and of course, find and upgrade a whole bevy of nifty items, gadgets, and moves — some of which may help her jump through space and time.

Key Features:

• Sci-fi Dungeon Diving: The world of XEL features a vast, extensive overworld and challenging, Zelda-like dungeons to explore
• A Deep Combat System: Become proficient at using a variety of attacks and combos, while dodging, and parrying to tackle and take out foes
• Gadgets & Guns: Master and upgrade your weapons, shield, and gadgets to smash your foes and open up new areas to explore
• Deep Lore and a Deeper Mystery: What exactly happened to this world, and who is responsible? Piece together a captivating story and dive into the legends behind the cryptic history of XEL
• Spacetime? Not a Problem: Unlock special abilities that allow Reid to bend the rules of space and time, granting her access to previously impassable areas and opening up new ways to defeat difficult enemies 

XEL is coming to PC (Steam) in Summer 2022, followed by Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4 and PS5 later in the year.