The team at Dlala Studios very clearly loved their work on Battletoads and their follow-up with Disney Illusion Islands. The challenge, of course, is that you’re working with other people’s intellectual property. Even if you love the subject matter, you’re bound by some specific rules around how those characters are drawn, portrayed, what they say, and more. Once you’ve got your feet underneath you, you probably want to test your hand at making something entirely your own. That’s precisely what Dlala has been doing for the last few years, and at gamescom 2026 they’ve finally got something to show. Recently we got our first look at their newest game, Murals, and it’s already immediately clear – this is precisely the game they’ve been wanting to make.
Unveiled during Opening Night Live, Murals is a fairy‑tale action‑adventure that immediately makes one thing clear: these are not the fairy tales we all grew up with. No, it’s taking the safe and shiny veneer off of the likes of familiar fables like Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, The Little Mermaid, and a whole library of to-be-revealed fables, then twisting them into something mischievous, irreverent, and occasionally a little unhinged. It’s the kind of premise that feels tailor‑made for a studio that’s always thrived on expressive animation and comedic timing. Only now, they’re not coloring inside anyone else’s lines.
Visually, Murals is striking in a way that showcases the hand-drawn talents the team has mastered. The hand‑drawn characters and environments have that storybook warmth Dlala’s known for, but the 3D‑rendered enemies give the world a dimensional punch that keeps everything from feeling too safe or too nostalgic. It’s a hybrid aesthetic that companies like Disney tried in small doses in the 90s with blended animations like the criminally underrated Treasure Planet, The Great Mouse Detective, and others. More recently, it’s become the norm in titles like the Spider-Verse films, Arcane, and Puss-in-Boots: The Last Wish. Now we see that brought to life in interactive media, and with great effect. Bold outlines, fluid animation, and a sense of personality baked into every frame – exactly the Dlala way. It’s the kind of art direction that makes you pause the trailer just to appreciate how much effort went into a single scene.
The real hook – the part that feels like Dlala swinging for the fences- is the combat. Aj Grand‑Scutton, the studio’s CEO and Game Director, describes it as fast‑paced, customizable, and built for experimentation. Here, the team is clearly chasing something deeper, with more of an emphasis on, as he puts it, “finding your own unique setups”. This suggests a combat system that has more layers, loadouts, modifiers, and maybe even a touch of meta? If they can deliver that without losing the studio’s trademark humor and approachability, Murals could land in a rare space where stylish action meets playful chaos.
The tone that Dlala has become known for is everywhere in the announcement, and in the brief gameplay demo we saw before the show. Grand‑Scutton jokes about taking credit for the art team’s work and humming the Community theme song if feedback is bad. Marcus Purvis, Dlala’s Head of Publishing, leans into the fact that self‑publishing Murals is literally why he has a job. It’s the kind of candid, unfiltered commentary that’s become part of Dlala’s identity, and it’s just confirmed by my own interactions with the team during events like Summer Game Fest. They aren’t trying to present themselves as a glossy, corporate monolith – just gamers and a team of people who genuinely enjoy making games. It’s fantastic to see them finally making one that’s entirely theirs.
That shift to original IP is more than a marketing bullet point. After years of working with Disney, Microsoft, and other major partners, Murals represents a creative reset — a chance for the studio to define its own world, its own rules, and its own tone without external guardrails. Self‑publishing adds pressure, but it also adds freedom, and you can feel that freedom in every part of the reveal.
I do owe Dlala a word of thanks. My wife, mom, and I haven’t gotten to play a lot of games, but thanks to that team’s incredible work on their last game, Disney Illusion Island (our review here). Their relentless pursuit of accessibility meant that my 82-year-old mom could play as Mickey Mouse, helping us solve puzzles while not feeling like she was ever holding us back. The smile on her face was worth the price of admission at twice the price. Thank you.
With a PC release planned for 2027, Murals is still early, but the reveal already paints a clear picture of what Dlala is aiming for: a fairy‑tale multiverse that’s vibrant, mischievous, and absolutely not sanitized; a combat system built for expression and experimentation; and an art style that blends hand‑drawn charm with modern rendering in a way that feels instantly recognizable. It’s familiar, playful, and entirely Dlala.
If the final game delivers on the promise of this reveal, Murals could be one of the standout original IPs of 2027. I’m ready to see Dlala finally cut loose and get weird with these familiar and fun fairy tales. Let’s scribble in the margins, Dlala! Let’s get weird.
Murals was announced at gamescom 2026 and is headed to PC in 2027. Stay tuned here at GamingTrend.com for all the news and our eventual hands-on with the game!
