La-Mulana 2 appears on Steam, set for release this summer

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It's been more than four years since the "archaeological ruin exploration action game" La-Mulana 2 was successfully funded on Kickstarter, to the tune of $267,000. Work has slowly (apparently very slowly) but surely progressed since then, and today developer Nigoro threw open the doors to a "teaser" website and a Steam page

"The release is happening this Summer," La-Mulana creator Takumi Naramura wrote in a Kickstarter update. "Have most of the users already lost their interest during all these years? No! It's the opposite! These days we have seen many indie games being released after years of development and they all succeeded. If the game is good, people will follow, that's all." 

La-Mulana 2 stars Lumisa Kosugi, daughter of the hero of the first game, who embarks upon an exploration of La-Mulana in an effort to learn why monsters are suddenly emerging from the ancient ruins. Her quest will eventually take her to the "other" La-Mulana, the ruins known as Eg-Lana, a vast area made up of "multiple field maps," with messages to discover, mysteries to solve, and huge monsters to battle. 

"La-Mulana was known as a 'Metroidvania' style game (a 2D action platformer with an emphasis on non-linear exploration). That said, the real core of the game is in deciphering the riddles scattered about the game, and solving the puzzles that exist as part of the ruins," the Steam page states. It estimates that "newcomers to the series" will take 20-30 hours to finish the game. 

The system requirements are relatively undemanding.

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 7 (64-bit)
  • Processor: Intel Core i5 2.3GHz or above
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: DirectX 12-compatible graphic board with at least 1GB of VRAM
  • DirectX: Version 12
  • Storage: 4 GB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectX 12 compatible sound card
  • OS: Windows 10 (64bit)
  • Processor: Intel Core i7 3.00GHz or above
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: DirectX 12-compatible graphic board with at least 2GB of VRAM
  • DirectX: Version 12
  • Storage: 4 GB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectX 12 compatible sound card

The original La-Mulana is currently on sale on GOG for $5, which is 67% off the regular $15 price. 

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.