Duru – About Mole Rats and Depression
Tuli leads a simple life in the mole rat colony: she collects food, meets with her friends and paints the best pictures in the colony. All the while nobody but her sees the dark creature that makes each of those activities a near unbeatable task.
Duru is a 2D puzzle adventure about mole rats and depression. It shows how we all can help people affected by this illness.
Set in a West-African inspired mole rat colony you play Tuli, one of the gatherers of the colony. One day everything becomes harder as Bel, an AI companion and the personification of Tuli’s growing depression, joins the party.
While running, jumping and painting your way through the tunnels surrounding the colony you have to find a way to deal with Bel and its manipulative behaviour. Your constant companion moves objects you painted around, eats them and holds you back in which ever way possible. Learn to use Bels behaviour in a way that lets you progress.
In the mole rat colony that Tuli calls her home her friends notice that she’s acting strange. She’s less talkative, is always late and seems not interested at all in hanging out with them. Some of them get tired of her tardiness…
You can always see how Bel twists Tuli’s thoughts, how it makes her not feel worth being friends with. Through exploring the mole rat colony and interaction with the other characters you can find out which behaviours are helpful to Tuli and which just make Bel grow.
Follow the story of Tuli – a story about the struggle with insecurities, depression and friendship, told in a colorful, accessible way.
What awaits you:
- a puzzle adventure in a colorful, West African-inspired setting
- a story about depression told through animation and picture dialog to enjoy regardless of language
- an AI companion that works with and against you
- drawing objects to puzzle your way through a lovingly designed world
- cute characters of the mole rat colony to befriend and uncover their individual stories
Game Discussion
Steam User 8
I'm not really into platformer games, but Duru is such a unique game worth the struggle. Still not far into the game, I want to help Tuli and her not so helpful ominous "friend" and I want to see how the story continues.
The combination of such serious themes with such a bright atmosphere created by the music, sounds and handmade 2D graphics is amazing. Such a bold game. Give it a try.
Steam User 6
Incredibly charming platformer
Cute graphics, satisfying platforming and an intriguing story!
Steam User 5
I've already played the demo of the game and liked it.
Love the theme of the game. I've barely seen any media tackling mental health in a way that isn't just a downer. Art is fantastic and the mole rats have so much personality!
I really enjoy the puzzle elements aswell, the first few were a bit easy, but still enjoyable.
There is more content available than most indie titles, especially for a story and puzzle focused game. At the time of this review my feeling tells me that I'm not even half way through.
Overall a good game, for a chill session, would recommend.
Steam User 5
I really like the characters and their cute interactions! It must be so difficult to write a wordless story, so kudos to the devs
Haven't played that much yet, but there are hints to some mystery, so I wonder where the story will go
Steam User 1
What a charming game! I'm intrigued by the idea of making a game about depression with a character, that is following you around and actually keeping you from doing stuff. I enjoyed the world and the characters as much as the gameplay.
Just be aware, that the AI isn't always doing what you want - just like the game intended ;)
Steam User 2
A charming puzzle platformer with cute graphics, but a serious theme. You follow the mole rat Tuli's struggle with fitting in the colony and meeting own, sometimes unrealistic, expectations.
What's unique about this game is the antagonistic AI companion that will try to make your life difficult, but who you also cannot just leave behind.
Steam User 2
Wonderfully expressive characters that convey the story well. The art style is unique and the music is nice. The platform game play is reasonably challenging and the puzzles are used as an effective way to explore the key theme. This has been a good game so far, I've enjoyed it a lot!