Koira is a musical, hand-drawn adventure game exploring the themes of friendship between a forest spirit and a puppy as the pair navigate through an enchanted forest.
Studio Tolima and Don’t Nod revealed a new trailer at this year’s Day of the Devs Showcase at Summer Game Fest portraying the interactions between the two, the 2D hand-drawn art, and musical aspects like the singing mechanic.
Ahead of the showcase, I interviewed Ben Lega, Studio Head and Game Director at Studio Tolima and we discussed Koira’s inspirations, storytelling, musical score, and the collaboration with Don’t Nod.
The music of Koira is composed by Reginald Nowe who played a key role in conveying the emotion and storytelling with the absence of text. “The music is an important part of the design. When the characters speak, they speak not with words but with the help of instrumental sounds,” said Lega. The pair’s musical interactions further the narrative as well. “Their singing is used to bond with each other and to activate certain magical statues.”
The original soundtrack portrays Koira’s contrasting themes, featuring both upbeat melodies and somber tunes to reflect its wholesome yet dramatic narrative. Lega says, “It’s a tale of friendship, but in a dangerous environment. We wanted this narrative duality to be reflected in both the visuals and the soundtrack.”
Koira is inspired by movies and video games that are similar to its own. The team at Studio Tolima focused on creating an emotional story through its hand-drawn animation and music. “This very minimalistic approach is something we really liked and took inspiration from animation movies that have the same approach, such as Disney’s Fantasia, but also from other games like Journey or Shadow of the Colossus.” Lega furthered, “Some inspirations are the movie Princess Mononoke and the King and the Mockingbird. Both of them contrast moments of beauty and innocence with darker and more profound themes.”
The partnership with Don’t Nod originated from showcasing Koira at a game dev meet-up in Brussels called Brotaru. The publisher immediately fell in love with Koira which culminated in the game being signed a few months later. So far, Lega says the collaboration has been very fruitful. “They were able to provide a lot of very valuable feedback in the form of internal playtest sessions with their employees as well as deep analysis from their game content experts.”
Koira aims for a 2025 release on Steam for PC were announced at this time. For now, you can check out the latest trailer and wishlist the game to be notified when the free playable demo is available this summer.
