A game focused on trying to bring awareness of loneliness and of non-violent play, Alula sees you planting trees, growing an island, and simply looking at the stars.
In Alula, you play a young woman who is alone on a small island. This island is pretty empty and bare – it has only one tree, and you are all alone. Bottles float in, which can be picked up and work as a tutorial, but also offer little side quests once you start to get into the game. You can plant flowers and then water them, helping them grow. When you run out of currency, it’s clearly time for you to relax and watch the stars.
Stargazing comes in the form of sitting at the tree, looking up at the sky. As you peer into the sky, you can see a bunch of different shapes which come out in the various sections of the night. You can connect the stars that match, also connecting them to orbs for bonus points. However, connecting them near black holes takes everything and gives you only a few points. Clicking around the sky will spawn more stars and shapes, which is quite helpful if you want to stargaze a bit more. Alula allows you to use these star points to plant more things on your island and also get various customization objects for your character. Building up this island is relaxing and very fun.
I only played a demo at EGX, but the developers are hoping to make it so that players can visit each other’s islands, watering their plants or leaving notes, before moving forward with their own small home.
Alula is currently in development, but in the meantime, you can follow its creation on Twitter.