The Small Ones is a stealth-metroidvania where standing still means certain death.
Hunt and be hunted in a flooded kingdom where pheromones betray your position.
“A new genre - stealthvania”
“Experience intense hunting sequences”
“Use your pheromones to trick hunters”
“Explore Cliff Kingdom - both above and below the surface”
story
Since the dawn of time, a storm has raged in a faraway world. At the eye of the storm lies a cliff, hiding a vast underground kingdom that stretches down toward the ocean floor.
In Cliff Kingdom the rules are simple:
You are either hunter, or you are prey — and if you’re prey, you better hide when night falls.
The realm is kept in balance by The Sovereign, an ancient being no one has seen for a very long time. Loved. Hated. And holds on to power by ensuring there is always enough prey for the hunters, and that the land remains dry.
But the prophecy tells of a prince, one who will turn the hunters into prey — and let the storm into the kingdom.
That prince is Prince Sponk.
And our story begins the moment he hatches from an egg that falls from the sky.
cliff kingdom
Cliff kingdom is vast, and hiding places are many — but you'll need all your cunning to survive once the hunters come out.
During the day, it is relatively safe to move about. But come nightfall, the hunters emerge — and if you haven’t found a hiding place, you better have a solid plan for how to get from A to B.
There are breeding centers to ensure the prey population is kept steady. Training grounds for future hunters. Trade stations for bait and traps.
And protected zones where both hunter and prey may roam freely — though everyone knows their place.
The kingdom is also equipped with massive storm breakers that hold back the water and the elements. Still, flooding happens.
And it is the Sovereigns wardens of the gates who are tasked with keeping the storm at bay.
Sovereigns five commandments:
“All prey is fair game — but only after nightfall.”
“If you are not a hunter, you are prey.”
“You may hunt anywhere, except in neutral zones.”
“The best hunters will be rewarded directly by the Sovereign.”
“The Sovereign claims a share of every hunt.”
dramatis personae
The Small Ones features a rich cast of characters, all grouped into different categories based on their species. All are from the animal kingdom — with humanoid traits.
prey
Live in constant fear of the hunters and only venture outside when they absolutely must — often to earn a living and feed themselves and their families.
They are typically portrayed as cute animals or insects, such as rabbits, beavers, snails, or ants.
hunters
Emerge after nightfall. Portrayed as the “mean” animals — ferrets, foxes, rhinos — but they can also be insects, such as spiders or dragonflies.
There are several castes of hunters, but they all share one goal: to earn the Sovereigns favor and be named Hunter of the Year.
bait
Baits are prey — or washed-up hunters — who have been captured and infected with a parasite that makes them docile and mindless.
Used to draw prey out of hiding, often by calling for help in a familiar voice.
You may encounter them during the day, but only in small groups.
trackers
Sent out by hunters to seek and tag prey, often during the day to prepare for the night's hunt. They are not as clever or strong as hunters but make a lot of noise if they spot prey in their path.
They are greedy creatures — pigs, bears, raccoons — and can be tricked with the right techniques.
ascetics
Hooded beings of unknown origin. Missionaries of the prophecy — spreading word of the coming Prince.
There are many factions.
For some, it is enough to share the message. Others will kill anyone who speaks against it.
Ascetics are protected by the Sovereign and cannot be hunted.
dogs
Dogs are… just dogs. Loyal to prey and hunter alike.
prophecy
The game begins with Prince Sponk hatching from an egg that falls from the sky.
We don’t tell the player much more than that.
We aim to include as few cutscenes as possible — only where absolutely necessary to push major story events forward. The player should always remain in control and choose for themselves how much — or how little — they wish to engage with the story.
The story of Cliff Kingdom is primarily told through:
Conversations and interactions with the world’s inhabitants — especially the prey and their many fates, and the ascetics with their varying interpretations of the prophecy
Prophecy Pillars scattered across the world
Encounters with hunters and the Sovereigns forces
Prophecy Pillars are large stone monoliths, carved with fragments of the holy text — often in differing versions, depending on which ascetic faction that did the most recent carving.
The prophecy is the kingdom’s most sacred scripture. It tells of the Sovereigns greatness — and downfall. And of the coming of the prince.
But, it’s one thing to believe ... It’s another when it starts coming true
Is Prince Sponk truly the chosen one?
And how do the faithful react when their prophesied savior finally appears in flesh and blood?
stealthvania
Metroidvanias are often defined by fast movement and intense combat, where precision and muscle memory play a central role.
We aim to recreate that same satisfying feel — but with stealth at the core.
Here, it's all about “keep moving — or be hunted”.
We’re reimagining stealth as a fast-paced, high-energy experience that fits the metroidvania genre — while still preserving the tension that makes stealth games so compelling, especially during high-stakes chases where hunters are actively pursuing you.
We’ve developed several core mechanics to make this possible — without sacrificing on suspense:
A pheromone system that punishes the player for standing still
A movement system that encourages constant momentum
Intense hunt sequences that span entire areas
In both metroidvanias and stealth games, player agency is key.
Both genres works best when it gives the player freedom to experiment and forge their own path.
In stealth games, that often means multiple routes and clever approaches to getting from A to B undetected — or figuring out creative ways to take down a target.
In metroidvanias, it means nonlinear exploration and using new abilities to access previously unreachable areas, all at your own pace.
Every area in The Small Ones is designed with both of these philosophies in mind.
Each stealth section can be approached in multiple ways, and the world is full of secrets, hidden chambers, and a complex web of tunnels that gradually unfolds as Sponk acquires new powers.
areas
The Small Ones is made up of several large areas, each composed of many interconnected rooms.
Every area may include boss fights, platforming challenges, hidden spaces, chase sequences, and underwater exploration.
All areas loosely follow the same structure:
Explore a new region. Meet the locals.
Survive chase sequences.
Solve stealth challenges and open stormbreakers.
Backtrack in flooded rooms.
Gain new abilities.
Most areas are protected from the elements by storm breakers — massive iron gates that shield the kingdom.
In each area, Sponk must open a storm breaker to progress. Doing so floods what was once dry. Locals are forced to migrate to safer zones. Places that have been sealed off for centuries become accessible once again.
And what was once divided becomes whole.
Another major source of variation is the day–night cycle, which changes the world dramatically.
Daytime offers relative safety — but also blocks off certain paths.
At night, the hunters come out, and you'll need all your cunning to outwit or outrun them.
features
movement
In a stealth game where staying in motion is the key to survival, movement becomes everything.
It must feel intuitive, fast, and seamless to go from running — to climbing — to swinging from the ceiling — to taking down an enemy.
There should never be any doubt about what actions are possible.
And when you fail, it should always feel like your fault — not the game's, not the character’s.
The controls should never fight against the player's intent.
stealth in two dimensions
One of the biggest challenges with stealth in a two-dimensional world is its inherent flatness.
Everything on screen is visible all at once — and that ruins the tension and uncertainty a stealth experience depends on.
You should always be asking yourself: what’s hiding behind the next door?
To solve this, we’ve implemented a custom “fog of war” - system
Undiscovered parts of each room — like areas behind closed doors — appear blurred, desaturated, and unreadable.
You can’t see if there are enemies behind them.
But the moment you enter the space, the fog lifts — and everything is revealed.
Some abilities will help you better predict what lies behind certain doors.
And sound travels through doors too — allowing us to create moments of suspense where the player hears that something is behind the door…
…but not exactly what.
pheromones
Enemies can detect and hunt you through pheromones — scent trails that he leaves behind wherever he goes.
The longer you stay in one spot, the stronger and more intense the scent becomes.
Enemies also release pheromones to communicate with one another — signaling that areas they patrol are clear, or that they've caught a whiff of something suspicious.
These pheromones linger for a while, gradually fading over time. But their intensity — and direction — can help hunters zero in on their prey.
This system allows you to actively mislead enemies, and even use his own pheromones aggressively — something that can be enhanced through special abilities and upgrades.
Pheromones are also affected by wind and weather.
Environmental elements can both complicate and assist in their manipulation.
A large air vent, for example, might cause a scent to spread farther — but at a lower intensity — or direct it toward a specific location.
The entire system is based on a real-time fluid simulation, running in the background and layered over a 2D grid. Each cell in the grid holds up-to-date information about the environment’s current state.
This same simulation powers all natural elements in the world — wind, gas, smoke, water — and every one of them can influence pheromone behavior.
stealth as a puzzle
Each level features a large stealth section that must be completed to progress.
These stealth zones are made up of a series of sequential challenges — individual rooms designed as isolated encounters where the goal is to make it through to the end without being detected.
There are several types of stealth sequences:
Some focus on slipping past trackers or baits, some are maneuvering enemies whilst traps are all around you - while others feature full-on hunts — with multiple hunters actively chasing you across an area.
All stealth puzzles have multiple solutions, and the player is free to choose their approach.
That might mean:
Tricking enemies using pheromone manipulation
Luring them into traps
Executing fast, chained takedowns of multiple target.
Relying on quick and clever movement to sneak past everything
The combination of fast traversal, pheromones, abilities, takedowns, and hunter behavior allows us to create an almost endless number of variations.
detection
In a stealth game, it's crucial that the player always understands their visibility and detection status.
Enemies in The Small Ones can exist in one of several states:
Patrolling – following their usual routes, passively searching for prey
Alert – they've caught a scent and are now actively investigating
Spotted – they've seen prey and are giving chase
These states drive several key systems in the game:
Some rooms will automatically lock once you're spotted
Others may call in reinforcements or trigger traps
Sponk cannot perform takedowns while nearby enemies are in alert mode
Combat becomes progressively harder the longer Sponk remains detected
Sponk can de-escalate threat levels by staying hidden for a set period of time —
or by using gear like pheromone bombs to confuse and manipulate enemy perception.
backtracking
Backtracking is a core element of any metroidvania.
You revisit earlier areas with newly acquired abilities that let you reach previously inaccessible places — both high and low.
But combining stealth with repeated traversal can be tricky.
Stealth sections are at their best when they're one-and-done.
Our solution:
Once you complete a stealth challenge, many rooms in that area are flooded
This logically disables the stealth mechanics in that space
Defeated hunters do not return — unless new quotas are issued by the Sovereign, which will happen occasionally throughout the game, creating new twists in old areas when revisiting them much later
Later in the game, you’ll also gain the ability to drain the water from flooded areas — to return control to freed prey, or to rediscover old challenges from a new perspective.
underwater exploration
The pace in The Small Ones can be intense — so to create contrast, we’ve included quieter areas that take place underwater.
These are often previously visited zones that have now been flooded, giving returning players a fresh perspective and a new set of challenges.
While underwater, players must manage:
Limited breath – find air pockets or return to the surface in time
Underwater hunters – including massive creatures like giant squids
Sponk can discover and equip gear that improves his swimming and breath capacity — such as flippers, oxygen tanks, and more.
The same fluid simulation that governs pheromones on land is also used underwater — simulating water currents that affect both player and enemy movement.
map
In both stealth games and metroidvanias, the map plays a vital role.
There are always new places to discover, old ones to revisit after the storm has passed through, hidden treasures to uncover — or tactical planning needed to get through a stealth section.
We’ve introduced three key features to encourage exploration:
screenshot markers
Instead of traditional map markers, The Small Ones lets players take screenshots of their current location and pin them to the map.
This makes it easier to remember why you marked that spot — instead of relying on a set of arbitrary symbols you’ll forget the meaning of.
Level of detail
The map features multiple levels of detail — from a basic skeleton view that only shows explored rooms, to a fully annotated map with hints about areas you’ve yet to explore, or where traps might be hidden.
These detail levels can be unlocked by either purchasing upgrades after visiting an area, or by completing various in-game challenges.
hunting
A large part of the game is about being hunted — or hunting.
The map will evolve to support this dynamic, with features that help players better navigate the world and use the environment to their advantage when trying to avoid — or take down — the hunters.
This can be markings of likely path hunters will take, or which rooms they have been in already.
combat
“rules of engagement”
When encountering enemies, certain rules always apply.
These are clearly communicated to the player, and form the foundation of how stealth can be used to navigate the world:
All regular enemies follow fixed movement patterns
Hunters will follow you — always
Getting spotted makes everything harder
Enemies can infect others with their current “status”
Most enemies can be taken down in a single strike — with the right approach
the hunt
At night, hunters emerge
— bringing with them a whole new layer to the combat system.
While regular enemies can be taken down through stealth or standard attacks, hunters require more cunning and a different approach.
You’ll need to trick them, lure them into their own traps, or separate them from one another to take them down one by one using standard combat techniques, a strategy for only the most foolhardy.
Each area offers multiple ways to deal with being hunted, and it’s entirely up to you how you choose to solve it.
Chase sequences are a core part of the game — almost like mini-boss fights.
Once released, hunters roam freely through the area, actively pursuing prey.
Only a limited number of hunters are deployed per area, and they usually hunt in pairs — one being slower but larger, the other smaller and more agile.
These chases span entire areas, and the hunters will track you room by room.
You’ll need to use everything you’ve learned about the space — every shortcut, every hiding spot — to gain the upper hand.
takedowns
Most enemies in the game can be eliminated silently — either through takedowns, or by using the environment — as long as you remain undetected and in the right position.
You might hang below a ledge and leap up, sneak in from behind, or trigger a trap that takes out the hunter for you.
With precise movement and timing, you can also perform chained takedowns —
flowing from one enemy to the next like a deadly dance.
Many of the game’s stealth puzzles are built around mastering this system.
bossfights
One of the most beloved elements of the metroidvania genre is the boss fights — and although The Small Ones is at its core a stealth game
boss encounters are primarily focused on direct combat
You’ll go up against the Sovereigns enforcers, or other key characters tied to the unfolding story.
As a rule, each major area will feature at least one main boss, and typically several smaller (optional) mini-bosses.
Boss fights are tests of endurance.
Bosses have lots of health, complex attack patterns, and are not easily brought down.
Each encounter is like a dance you must learn step by step — this isn’t a button-mashing brawl.
You’ll need to read your enemy, learn their moves, and strike only when the moment is right.
health
One of the most criticized mechanics in the genre is so-called "corpse-running" — where dying means losing all your progress and currency, and having to make your way back to the spot you died just to recover part of it.
We believe corpse-runs does not work in a stealthvania.
To encourage experimentation and trial-and-error, you will respawn at frequent checkpoints — not far away — so you can quickly try again.
This is especially important in stealth challenges where players are expected to build muscle memory.
There are still consequences to getting caught or dying:
You start with a pool of extra lives that allow you to respawn locally. These are earned by defeating enemies and hunters.
Once these are used up, you’ll lose a portion of your currency.
If that’s depleted as well, you’ll be sent back to the last full save point at the start of the area.
ai
Every enemy in the game comes equipped with a set of sensors used to interpret their surroundings.
They also communicate with one another through pheromones, allowing them to spread status effects and alerts like a kind of infection.
Their sensory systems include:
Line of sight
Pheromonal awareness
Sound detection
These systems are combined to guide enemy behavior and determine their actions.
By default, enemies follow semi-fixed movement patterns with some randomness.
This makes it possible for players to learn patterns and plan stealth maneuvers.
Hunters, however, are more unpredictable, and remain in a constant search state.
What they all have in common is this:
Once you’re spotted, they will pursue — and they often attack as a pack.
There’s a lot of variation in how enemies move.
Some are limited to moving side to side, and can only climb in specific spots.
Others can freely traverse walls and ceilings.
Hunters in particular are highly mobile and may chase you from room to room if they catch your scent.
progression
Progression in a metroidvania is most often tied to acquiring new abilities and items that let you explore previously inaccessible areas.
When paired with stealth, this opens up a rich toolbox of gadgets and powers that give the player a natural sense of growth and mastery over the world.
items and abilities
A metroidvania is nothing without its upgrades — and The Small Ones is no exception. Here's a small taste of what to expect:
Tools and abilities that enhance stealth — such as pheromone manipulation, enemy control, and invisibility
Underwater gear like oxygen tanks, flippers, weight belts, and sonar
Traversal skills like teleportation, grappling hooks, and wall jumping
token trees
In addition to collecting active abilities and movement options, players will also encounter tokens — a skill-currency found throughout the game.
Tokens are used to invest in one of three skill trees.
Each tree grants passive and active traits based on its focus.
You can specialize in three directions:
Pacifist – upgrades tied to health and movement, focused on avoiding combat
Combat – abilities that enhance damage and fighting power
Stealth – upgrades that improve your sneaking abilities
The token system is unique in that you're free to unlock any tier in any tree, as long as you have enough tokens —
but it's cheaper to level up sequentially within the same tree.
Tokens can also be reallocated at specific moments in the game — typically at the start of each major area —
giving you room to experiment with different builds and approaches as new challenges arise.
This gives you the freedom to creatively distribute your points based on your preferred playstyle.