In November 2025, Lambda Forge released the first playable hour of Kenzu: Shadow and Light, a hand-drawn metroidvania.12 The game is free to play in the browser. The team publishes devlogs twice weekly on itch.io.1
The game features a boss-heavy campaign, hand-drawn visuals, and a world drawing from Japanese and Latin American aesthetic traditions. It was shown at the Devconnect Demoday in Buenos Aires.3
Development in the open
Lambda Forge publishes each step: new bosses, biome design, narrative scenarios, animation work, mechanical adjustments. This is unusual in game development, where studios typically work in secrecy until a polished trailer is ready.
The approach has trade-offs. Early builds expose rough edges. But players who follow the devlogs invest in the development and become the game’s most committed audience.
Current state
The initial release covers the first biome and several boss encounters. Combat emphasizes pattern recognition and timing. A second biome is in active development.