Running Through a Monster Infested Landscape with ‘Stela’
A woman in white wakes alone in strange cavern. She crawls over boulders, climbing out into the light, and begins to run — facing a world of monsters all seeking to destroy her.
Stela is a side scrolling puzzle adventure game from SkyBox Labs, available on iOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Macintosh. Playing as the woman in white, the player transverses various dark and unsettling landscapes, encountering various obstacles they need to get around — rocks to climb, traps to evade, puzzles to solve.
Some of the most dangerous obstacles are the creatures you encounter along the way — insects, diggers, and tall, lean, sharp clawed things. Most of these creatures are almost always impossible to outrun, so finding ways to sneak around or outsmart them is vital for your survival.
As a player, interaction with the world is limited. Your character can transverse from side to side, grab boxes or objects to slide along the ground, or pull various cranks or levers in order to set gears into motion. The puzzles are generally straightforward, making them easy enough to get around. Others present greater challenges, requiring trial and error (and many deaths) in order to figure out the correct timing or order of action to complete the task.
