From several of the creative forces behind the well-regarded Unravel series comes Hela, a 3D solo or co-op title in which you’ll get to control some rather adventurous mice in the Scandinavian wilderness. From the trailers alone, this was one that definitely caught my eye when it was revealed over the summer.
As someone that’s loved my time with some of the wonderful co-op platformers we’ve gotten in 2025, such as LEGO Voyagers and Split Fiction, it’s exciting to see such a cozy, charming-looking game in the genre that seems primed to stand tall alongside any other cooperative titles we’ll eventually get next year.
Recently, I was able to ask some questions to Alexander Benitez, studio head of Windup Games, the developers of Hela. After reading their responses, I think you’ll also see just how inspired and charming Hela seems to be shaping up to be.
If you’re a fellow gamer that also loves being in nature between your play sessions, read on below to learn more about the promising-looking and upcoming Hela.
Interview With Alexander Benitez, Head Of Studio At Windup Games
Q: How big is the team at Windup, and what are some previous involved works players may know you from?
Hela is being developed by a 30-person team, with the core leadership formed by Martin Sahlin (Creative Director), Henrik Söder (Art Director), and Jakob Marklund (Technical Director), all of whom have a deep background in game development from their work on the Unravel series.
Q: How important is it to you to focus on Sweden as a team based in the country? Do you think you’ll always focus on this region in your games?
It is important for us to stay true to what we create. It comes naturally to share with players what we know best — the environment we grew up in. For people in Sweden, connecting with nature is a part of everyday life. Spending time in nature is a form of cleansing, something we learn from an early age.
This is what we want Hela to be as well — a way to transport players back to the feeling of childhood play in the woods: spontaneous, joyful, and full of curiosity and experimentation. This is what our childhood looked like, and this is what we want to share with players.
Q: While Hela is playable both solo and in co-op, do you prefer players experience the game in one format over the other?
We want players to be able to enjoy both solo and co-op play. Of course, playing with friends is more joyful and exciting, but we do not want to exclude players who prefer to explore the forest alone. Some challenges are designed for two, three, or four players, and they will remain that way even if someone is playing solo.
To ensure every player can fully enjoy everything we’ve created, we introduced the Shade System — a feature that allows the player to create copies of their character to fill the missing spots needed to solve certain puzzles or tasks. Since up to four players can play together in Hela, a solo player can create up to three Shades to compensate for the missing players. For example, if you play couch co-op with one friend, you can create two Shades; if you play with three people, one Shade, and so on.
Q: Will Hela be cross-platform for co-op play?
Hela is still in active development. Quite recently—this summer—we announced that in addition to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, the game will also be coming to Nintendo Switch 2. Naturally, we are carefully exploring how to make the most of each platform’s unique capabilities in a way that suits Hela’s character and core experience.
This also goes hand in hand with internal discussions about what additional features we may introduce for the game. However, we believe that the moment when we’re ready to present all these options to the community is still ahead of us.
Q: Are there any other pieces of media, video games or otherwise, that Hela was heavily inspired by?
Hela is not heavily inspired by any specific existing piece of media. Naturally, the story takes place in the Swedish countryside, in a land watched over by a friendly witch. The magical aspect loosely draws from some of Sweden’s legends and folklore, but it is not a direct interpretation of any of them.
Fans of the Unravel series will notice a shared DNA, simply because the same people who created Unravel are now creating Hela. The values that shaped the development team and were expressed in Unravel can also be felt in Hela. However, both titles should be treated as separate and unrelated stories.
Q: Do the mice in Hela have names?
No, the mice will not have specific names. We want players to fully project their own personality onto them. It is also closely tied to the Shade System and the ease of joining others’ sessions. On one hand, the Shade System allows players to switch freely between characters they control; on the other hand, friends can join your game at any time and play together… and also switch freely between Shades.
This constant switching between playable characters does not support the idea of named protagonists. Leaving the mice unnamed felt like the clearest and most natural direction.
Q: Does Hela feature influence from actual folklore of the Swedish/Scandinavian region, or is the story of the witch/mouse familiars unique to this experience?
We’re influenced by folklore in the sense that it’s part of our culture, but the story we tell in Hela is our own. It’s cool to have such a rich history and tradition to draw from, but we want to add to it too, not just take. If our folklore is like a tree with very deep roots, we’re trying to be like a fresh green leaf (or a tasty fruit!).
Q: A lot of games that feature physics-based gameplay come with a sense of humor as you experiment with objects in the game’s physics engine. Would you say we can expect that here as well?
Absolutely. Players will find many objects in Hela that they can interact with. Their implied use will generally be clear, but we strongly encourage experimentation and creative play. The mice in Hela are very agile and have their magical backpack at their disposal. With such a large playground prepared for them, we hope players will discover new and inventive ways to use these objects — and, in the spirit of childhood play, lose themselves in the joy of playful exploration, sometimes aimless, but always fun.
Q: What sort of features and powers can we expect from the magical backpacks that the mice wear?
Everything the mice do is thanks to their magical backpack. It’s part of the friendly witch’s magic that allows them to go beyond what mice can do in nature. With the backpack, players will be able to glide through the air when the froggy backpack inflates like a balloon, or swing through the forest using its long tongue like a rope.
The backpack will also let players interact with physical objects like a grappling hook, create ‘bridges’ for other players to move across, or launch them like a bouncing pad. Now imagine four friends using these abilities at the same time — the potential for creative experimentation and fun grows exponentially. That’s exactly what we’re aiming for.
Q: On a personal level, I am very into the celebration of nature and wildlife that it seems like Hela is going for. Is the game hoping to make some sort of larger point about nature in general?
Nature and our connection to it are incredibly important to us. We want to share with players the feeling of cleansing and grounding that nature brings, but also a sense of respect and appreciation for the environment. In Hela, the friendly witch is the guardian of the land, taking care of all its inhabitants — people and animals alike. Appreciating what nature may also come through learning some abilities from the forest’s inhabitants, by completing the quests and challenges tied to them.
Although nature is not a character in this story, it is certainly an integral part of it, with great significance.
Q: Do you have any additional messages or themes you’re hoping come across in Hela?
Hela is full of messages, but rather than telling you, we prefer to let you make up your own minds about it. “Self-determination” was one of our core pillars for Hela. We wanted it to be a game about going wherever you want to go and doing whatever you feel like doing. Exploring stuff that makes you curious. Playing for the sake of playfulness.
That applies to the story and underlying messages too — it’s not up to us to decide what you find interesting, or how you choose to interpret things. We try to put good stuff in the game, but ultimately it’s up to you to make sense of it.
Q: Anything else we haven’t touched on that you’d like to share with the readers?
We encourage all fans of cozy, wholesome gaming to follow our social channels and join our Discord server, where we’ll share more news about Hela in the future.
Hela Will Swing Into 2026
The charming and whimsical-looking Hela is slated to grace our screens sometime in 2026. As Alexander shared above, you can expect the game on PC, PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch 2.
In addition to the social channels and Discord server you can follow the game at, Hela is also listed on Steam if you’d like to wishlist it there and be in the loop for any future updates.
Curious to see how the game looks in action? Below, you can check out Hela’s latest trailer to see what you and your mouse buddies will be up to when the game is released.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
