The Merlies: head out to explore, return home to build
Explore a colourful world, reunite the flock and find materials for home: The Merlies proposes a gentle adventure in which human leftovers shape a new village.
Official The Merlies screenshot and store artwork, published on Steam by ARTE France.
What you find outside changes your home
A lamp can become a house; an ice-cube tray can become storage. In The Merlies, objects left behind by humanity find new uses with a flock of tiny birds. Its main mechanic connects two activities: exploring a colourful world for materials and returning to build and decorate the village. Each outing has a purpose beyond reaching the next path: finding things that will shape the flock’s home.[1]
A cable as a path, a mushroom as a springboard
Exploration happens at the birds’ scale. A cable offers something to climb and an empty pipe provides a route through the landscape; mushrooms launch them upwards. Everyday objects become an enormous landscape to navigate. A thorn or rock can complicate the route: the challenge lies in finding a way through and keeping the flock safe, without combat taking over the journey.[1][3]
More companions, new paths
A storm has scattered the community, and outings also involve searching for missing birds. Each companion brings abilities that provide access to new passages. Reuniting the flock therefore expands where it can explore. The village houses and trains its members for future expeditions; a reused slate becomes a large map. Home and the outside world feed into one another: resources and companions found beyond the village help rebuild it.[1][3]
An adventure that invites a slower pace
The publisher presents The Merlies as a calm, comforting adventure to explore at your own pace. Its two-dimensional landscapes draw on graphic novels and children’s picture books, with bright colours and different environments to explore. The premise speaks to people looking to relax by exploring and growing a place of their own: gathering scraps, giving them a new use and heading out again with the flock.[1]
From graffiti to a community of birds
Cosmografik, who created the original concept and visual guide, previously made Vandals: a turn-based game about avoiding police surveillance to paint walls in cities such as Paris and Tokyo. The Merlies moves to the remains of a human world inhabited by another form of life. Production credits name ARTE France, Darjeeling and Blue Ramen. ARTE identifies cooperation and environmental care among this new adventure’s themes.[2][4]
Sources and checks
Links point to sources. They are not endorsements or sponsorships.
- [1] Steam · The MerliesStore · Checked on 7 October 2026
- [2] ARTE · The MerliesPublisher · Checked on 7 October 2026
- [3] Nintendo · The MerliesStore · Checked on 7 October 2026
- [4] ARTE — Vandals, obra anterior de CosmografikPublisher · Checked on 7 October 2026
Revision history · Version 6
— First pilot edition. Independent review pending.
— Rewritten after the owner’s editorial rejection: concrete actions, the exploration/village connection and consolidated limits. Steam snapshot updated to 22 reviews and 86%.
— Integrated actual Gemini critique: removed reading-method commentary, detailed landscape hazards and object uses. Visual authorship attributed precisely.
— Integrated the second actual Gemini critique: removed repeated opening and flock-progression commentary. Added verified creative background on Vandals. The final prose requires review of its new hash.
— Applied the owner’s direction: exploration and returning home to build as the main focus, a gentle tone attributed to the publisher and a discreet combat mention. Added official Steam artwork, screenshot and trailer link.
— Added an official trailer player and the game type declared by Steam and ARTE. Simplified visible attribution to Independent editorial · CLARO while retaining provenance and reviews in editorial records.
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