Llewl and the Lyre of Two Worlds drops its first public demo this month.
Llewl and the Lyre of Two Worlds is a retro pixel-art JRPG developed by Mana Relic Games, a small father-and-daughter studio based on the west coast of Ireland, with friends and outsourcing filling in the gaps where needed. It takes its inspiration openly, with the team citing Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IV, V, and VI as touchstones.
The hero is Sarah, and the story hook centers on an artifact called the Lyre of Two Worlds and the idea of a chosen one, with competing legends about whether it opens a path to the gods, the dead, or something worse.
Sarah is the adopted granddaughter and apprentice of the last Light Guardian, and her job is to keep Llewl alive, find the Lyre, and try not to let prophecy turn into a disaster.
Combat takes the old school turn-based JRPGs rhythm but frames it on two 4×4 grids, one for your party and one for enemies, with tiered status effects and an armor system the studio compares to Larian Studios style design from the Divinity: Original Sin era.
Exploration sounds more mobile than most ’90s throwbacks, since Sarah can move freely and the game supports actions like swimming and jumping right away, then layers in more traversal options over time.
The team is currently aiming for a full release in late 2027 or early 2028, so this demo is the first real checkpoint for how the grid combat and movement-focused exploration feel in players’ hands. Llewl and the Lyre of Two Worlds is getting its first public demo on Steam on February 9. Below is the trailer.
