The Merlies Turns the Apocalypse into a Heartwarming Adventure

A world without humans usually brings to mind ruined cities, danger, and a constant struggle for survival. The Merlies looks at that idea from a completely different angle. Nature is slowly reclaiming the remains of an old civilization, while among the enormous objects left behind, a flock of tiny birds is simply trying to find each other again and build a place to call home. With no combat and no tense boss battles, the game instead makes curiosity, cooperation, and exploration the driving forces behind your journey.

A Metroidvania That Doesn't Need Combat to Make Exploration Rewarding

The developers describe The Merlies as a “wholesomevania,” and the term captures the spirit of the game surprisingly well. You still explore an interconnected 2D world, come across paths you cannot reach yet, and find reasons to return to familiar areas after gaining new abilities. Instead of tying progression to weapons, stats, or increasingly powerful combat skills, however, The Merlies turns the members of your flock into the tools that allow you to move forward.

Finding another Merlie therefore means more than simply adding another cute face to the group following behind you. As the flock grows, new possibilities gradually open up, giving you more reasons to revisit places you thought you had already figured out.

The gameplay largely revolves around how you use and coordinate the flock:

• stack Merlies on top of one another to reach higher places;
• launch one member toward areas that would otherwise be out of reach;
• split the flock into separate groups to interact with mechanisms in different locations;
• bring everyone back together before continuing deeper into the world.

That design makes Pikmin a fairly natural comparison. Both games put tiny creatures at the heart of the experience and turn otherwise ordinary objects into massive obstacles when seen from their perspective. But The Merlies is not a miniature strategy game. There is no combat and no pressure to maintain an army; the focus is much more on puzzle-platforming, exploration, and figuring out how to get the entire flock through the environment.

And sooner or later, every journey brings you back to the Nest.

Objects that humans would consider useless can become valuable materials for the Merlie community. A lamp, a writing slate, an ice cube tray, or other everyday items can take on the scale of entire buildings for these tiny inhabitants. Village building therefore does not feel separate from the adventure, but rather like a natural continuation of it: explore the world, bring home what you find, and watch the Nest gradually change after each trip.

That perspective also gives the solarpunk theme of The Merlies more meaning than simply serving as an attractive visual style. This is still a world where humanity has disappeared, but the game is less interested in explaining exactly how the disaster happened. What matters more is what new life can do with everything that was left behind.

Exploration consequently feels much gentler than in many traditional Metroidvanias. Some moments may bring to mind adventure-platformers such as Planet of Lana in the way the environment guides the player, but The Merlies largely removes the feeling of being hunted or constantly preparing for danger. Its appeal instead comes from spotting a strange object in the distance, finding a path you still cannot cross, and wondering what your little flock might be able to do with it once a few more members have joined.

With an estimated playtime of around 8–10 hours, The Merlies is not trying to become an enormous Metroidvania. What makes it stand out is how it takes a familiar structure and changes the motivation behind it: progression comes through community, puzzles are built around teamwork, and its post-apocalyptic world is less concerned with endings than with the possibility of starting again.

If you're looking for a gentle adventure-platformer that still offers a steady sense of exploration and discovery, visit the game's official website to learn more about The Merlies. You can also visit our price comparison platform to buy The Merlies at the best price.