Par Online Games VIP Editorial
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Dlala Studios’ Murals reworks classic fairy tales into a colorful linear action game with arena combat, permanent upgrades, and adjustable difficulty.
Game Informer has offered an early look at Murals, the next game from Dlala Studios. Revealed during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live event, the project is a fairy-tale action game planned for launch sometime next year, according to Game Informer’s preview. The studio is known to many players for 2023’s Disney Illusion Island, but Murals moves into a very different genre by putting combat at the center of its adventure.
Game Informer’s Wesley LeBlanc did not play Murals during the 30-minute behind-closed-doors presentation at Gamescom 2026. Instead, game director and Dlala CEO AJ Grand-Scutton explained the game while design director Grant Allen played. That distinction matters: the preview provides a detailed look at the systems and presentation, but direct impressions of the controls remain unconfirmed until players can try the game themselves.
The preview presents Murals as a linear journey through reinterpretations of classic fairy tales, including The Little Mermaid, Rapunzel, and Rumpelstiltskin. Dlala’s version is not based on Disney adaptations, Game Informer reports. Instead, the studio is drawing from the older stories associated with writers such as Hans Christian Andersen while adding its own characters, visual style, and tone.
Players take the role of The Hero, a mostly quiet protagonist who travels through the game’s storybook worlds. Game Informer reports that The Hero does speak, but only rarely. Much of the conversation comes from Toast, a sketch that has gone wrong amid the chaos spreading through the world. Toast accompanies The Hero during the preview’s visit to the game’s version of The Little Mermaid.
That setting is described as a painted, beachside environment watched over by The Creator, an ominous and mischievous figure. The Little Mermaid is shown lying in a moving bathtub with octopus-like hair, while The Hero attempts to help her. Monsters known as The Distorted are responsible for the broader disruption affecting this world, according to Game Informer’s account.
The story details remain limited because the demonstration focused mainly on combat. Game Informer says the short presentation was not long enough to provide a broad view of the narrative. What is clear is that Dlala is combining recognizable fairy-tale foundations with original creations such as The Hero, Toast, The Creator, and the Distorted. The preview also notes that Dlala has a reputation for creating distinctive characters, but that observation is Game Informer’s analysis rather than a confirmed statement about the full cast or story structure.
Combat is the largest change from Disney Illusion Island. Game Informer describes that earlier game as having no combat, while Murals is built around battles against different enemy types. The preview identifies influences from Doom and Hades: enemies are designed around specialized behaviors, and fights take place in isometric, arena-style spaces with rewards available after encounters.
The game is not a roguelite, Game Informer reports. It is a linear adventure with a planned story rather than a structure built around repeated randomized runs. Its combat areas are also smaller than the arenas seen in Hades, with barriers and environmental hazards shaping the spaces. Those features are intended to make positioning important, although the report appropriately stops short of confirming how demanding the final combat will be.
The preview shows The Hero using two weapons during the demonstration. The Dixie Cut is described by Game Informer as an all-around melee sword, while the Dragon Medallion functions as a magical blaster that can keep enemies away. The Hero later switches to the Wolfhammer, giving the presentation a chance to show how different weapons can be paired with other combat effects.
Those effects come from items called Eeries. Magic Dave, a fantastical scarecrow voiced by British comedian Bob Mortimer, sells them during the adventure, according to Game Informer. Grand-Scutton compares the system with Hades’ Boons, but the important difference is persistence. Eeries are permanent additions to the adventure rather than temporary benefits that disappear after a run, and players can equip or unequip them freely.
One demonstrated Eerie gives the blaster a chance to freeze enemies when they are hit by projectiles. Another, called Chain ’Em, gives the Wolfhammer a chance to electrify enemies on impact. These examples suggest that weapon choice and Eerie selection will work together, allowing players to shape how The Hero handles groups of enemies. The preview does not confirm how many Eeries will be available, whether they can be upgraded, or whether some are restricted to specific weapons.
Game Informer also reports a straightforward experience system. The Hero earns XP from encounters, with additional bonuses for kill streaks. Leveling can improve damage output, health, and other attributes. However, the preview did not show the progression menus, so the full range of upgrade options and the pace of advancement remain unknown.
Defeated enemies drop Distortion, which fills a bar beneath The Hero’s health display. Once the bar is full, the player can activate an Ultimate-style attack that clears arenas with a hand-animated visual effect. The preview describes this attack as a major visual moment, but it does not identify its exact damage rules, cooldown behavior, or whether different upgrades can change it.
Movement is another part of the game’s identity. Game Informer observed The Hero skating through the beachside area on shoes resembling Heelys. That mobility appears alongside the arena design, barriers, and hazards, but the preview does not establish whether skating is mainly a traversal tool, a combat technique, or both.
Analysis: Murals could appeal to players who enjoyed Dlala’s character work and visual personality but want a more active challenge than Disney Illusion Island offered. Game Informer’s preview describes combat that is colorful and readable, with large effects set against painterly environments. That combination may help separate the game from more muted isometric action adventures, though the final result will depend on how clearly those effects communicate danger during busy fights.
The choice to make Murals linear rather than roguelite also gives the project a different player profile from Hades, despite the apparent influence. Players who like action combat but prefer a defined story and forward progression may find that structure more approachable. At the same time, permanent Eeries could give the adventure a layer of build customization without requiring repeated runs through randomly generated stages.
Analysis: The smaller arenas may be especially important. In a large open combat space, players can often escape danger by creating distance. Game Informer’s description of fixed barriers and environmental hazards suggests that Murals will ask players to read the battlefield and decide where to stand before committing to an attack. That could make the sword, blaster, Wolfhammer, and Eeries feel meaningfully different, but this remains an interpretation of the preview rather than a confirmed assessment of balance.
The accessibility question is also worth watching. Game Informer reports that Grand-Scutton said Murals will include various settings to make the game easier or harder, with the goal of being as welcoming as Disney Illusion Island. The source does not list those settings or explain whether they affect enemy health, damage, timing, assist features, or other systems. For families and newer players coming from Dlala’s previous game, the existence and clarity of those options may be as important as the combat itself.
Several important details are still missing. The source gives only a broad launch window, describing the game as arriving sometime next year after its Gamescom 2026 reveal. It does not provide a specific release date, platforms, price, multiplayer information, or details about preorders. Those should not be assumed from the preview.
The presentation also ended before Game Informer could see a boss fight. The report says the demonstration reached a boss encounter but did not show it. As a result, there is no confirmed information about boss design, encounter length, phase structure, or how boss battles will differ from standard arena fights.
The narrative is similarly incomplete. The preview introduces the Little Mermaid setting and several original characters, but it does not explain the full role of The Creator, the origin of The Distorted, or how the different fairy tales connect. It also does not establish how much freedom players have to revisit areas, whether the stories are presented in a fixed order, or how frequently the game moves between murals.
Progression needs further evidence as well. The source confirms XP, kill-streak bonuses, improvements to attributes, permanent Eeries, and a Distortion meter. It does not confirm a skill tree, weapon upgrades, difficulty rewards, character builds beyond Eerie loadouts, or the total number of weapons. The fact that Eeries can be equipped and unequipped is clear, but their long-term role in the adventure will depend on the variety and limits of the system.
The next useful evidence will be direct gameplay from a larger section of Murals. A hands-on session could clarify whether the controls feel as close to Hades as the preview suggests, how quickly the combat systems become readable, and whether environmental hazards create meaningful decisions instead of simply narrowing the arenas.
Players should also watch for a full announcement of platforms and the exact launch date. More footage of the boss fights, progression menus, difficulty settings, and additional fairy-tale worlds would answer many of the questions left open by the Gamescom presentation. Demonstrations of Toast and The Creator in longer story scenes could show whether the original characters have a role beyond framing the familiar tales.
For now, Game Informer’s preview establishes Murals as a colorful linear action adventure with fairy-tale reinterpretations, isometric combat, permanent Eeries, and adjustable difficulty. The project appears to be a clear genre departure for Dlala Studios, but its eventual appeal will depend on the parts the preview could not test directly: control feel, encounter variety, progression depth, and how successfully its story connects the different murals.