Hela: Of Mice & Magic

Story and setting

Hela centres on a kindly witch who has fallen ill and the small mice who act as her familiars. The mice must gather ingredients, brew cures and tackle problems across a landscape modelled on Norrland — forests, meadows, wetlands and small settlements — with an atmosphere that leans into Nordic folklore and quiet, low‑stakes heroism. Narrative presentation is gentle rather than grim: trailers and developer material frame the tale as about care, community and the everyday work of keeping a patch of countryside healthy.

How it plays

Gameplay is third‑person, slow-paced and design-led around exploration, environmental puzzles and a brewing/crafting system shown in recent trailers. Players scavenge ingredients from the world, combine them in recipes and use magical effects to solve problems or help characters. Combat is not a headline feature; interaction, platforming and clever use of the game’s core mechanics are the focus.

Hela supports single-player alongside both local split-screen and online co-op for up to four players. Windup and publisher copy describe a "Shade System" — a mechanic that creates shadow copies or companions so solo players can access content designed with multiple characters in mind, letting one person complete sections that otherwise need teamwork.

Platforms, editions and UK specifics

The game will launch on PC (Steam and Epic), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2 on 1 December 2026. Knights Peak has confirmed day‑one availability on Xbox Game Pass (UK availability noted by the publisher). A Harmony Edition will be distributed physically in selected regions via Microids/Knights Peak and includes the game disc (PS5/Xbox Series X) plus a digital soundtrack; several retailers have been named for selected EU/US territories but UK stock will depend on individual shops.

The Xbox store UK listing shows a PEGI 3 rating and confirms online multiplayer requirements on console. No UK RRP for the standard or special editions has been published by the publisher at time of writing; where retailers list pre-orders their prices vary and should be treated as provisional until official RRP is posted.

What the trailers and showcases have shown

Windup and Knights Peak have released multiple trailers and deep dives across 2025–2026: initial reveal at Gamescom/GDC-era showcases, an Xbox Wire feature and a Nintendo Direct story-and-release trailer in September 2026 that confirmed the 1 December date. Recent official footage has focused on world building, the brewing system, animal interactions and the Shade System that underpins solo/co-op balance. Presentations emphasise atmosphere and accessibility rather than action; trailers have offered extended looks at traversal, puzzles and cooperative set-pieces.

Developers have also outlined localisation plans (multiple text and voice languages) and shown the Harmony Edition packaging; technical notes and an explicit engine credit to Unreal Engine 5 appear in developer and storefront material.

What we still don't know

Price in the UK for the standard digital edition and physical Harmony Edition has not been confirmed by the publisher — retailer pre-order listings exist but are provisional. Precise launch timings for the UK (BST) beyond the date 1 December 2026 have not been published; SteamDB lists a UTC timestamp but publishers normally confirm regional store timings closer to release. Full technical performance targets (frame-rate/graphics modes) for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, plus explicit Switch 2 resolution targets, have not been detailed in official posts. Finally, post-launch plans such as DLC, seasonal events or cross‑platform progression have not been announced.