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Who is Cold Lazarus, and what mysteries awaken with them?

Cold Lazarus is a story driven odyssey that fuses the exploration of a metroidvania with the intensity of a 2D shoot ’em up. Beneath its fast-paced combat and fluid platforming lies a richly layered narrative, brought to life through a striking hand-drawn aesthetic and a powerful symphonic rock soundtrack.

You play as Lazarus, an outsider who awakens on the drifting Asteroid Islands of Nimbranumbra. What he finds is a world both whimsical and unraveling, filled with mushroom villages, enchanted forests, and ancient ruins populated by a cast of endearing characters. But this fragile world is under siege. Mysterious portals have begun tearing through reality, unleashing a creeping plague tied to a stark, colorless dimension known as the “Frameworks.”

As Lazarus searches for answers, he’s drawn into a growing crisis that entangles him in political tension, existential threat, and a mystery that may define his very identity.

Gameplay centers on fluid, expressive movement and high-intensity combat. Players chain together seamless jumps and aerial maneuvers to navigate dynamic environments, dodge relentless enemy patterns, and maintain control in chaotic encounters. Combat unfolds across three core scenarios:

• Exploration encounters: scattered enemies that reward mastery of movement and precision
• Wave events: escalating, arena-style battles that test endurance and adaptability
• Boss fights: large-scale, multi-phase encounters where survival depends on spatial awareness and split-second decision making

Lazarus fights back using an unconventional arsenal. His signature laser abilities offer precision and power, exploding easter eggs make quick work of enemy hordes, and curious items like a summonable giant teddy bear, inject chaos, strategy, and humor into every encounter.

Progression is driven by discovery and choice. By collecting “Special Ingredients” throughout the world or earning them through quests, players can upgrade weapons, abilities, and survivability.

At its core, Cold Lazarus is a narrative experience. Through a diary-like journey and a cast of memorable characters, players uncover the truth behind the portals, the nature of the Frameworks, and Lazarus’s role in it all. Meanwhile, President King Koala, a powerful and enigmatic leader, is determined to capture Lazarus for reasons unknown.

What unfolds is a genre-blending odyssey of action, mystery, comedy, and tragedy. Set in a world that is as charming as it is doomed.