Riwa

Overview RIWA is a casual exploration game presented in a 3D isometric view. Players take on the role of Sensa, a spirit from an ancient tribe, as she uncovers the secrets hidden within the mysterious Tower of Riwa. To progress, players will need to solve a variety of puzzles by shifting between past and present timelines. This temporal journey allows for free exploration of the tower’s layers, gradually revealing its history and forgotten purpose. Lore Sensa has been chosen by her tribe to explore the Tower of RIWA the last remaining tower built to destroy a demon that once sought to wipe out humanity centuries ago. However, the tower, struck by an unknown malfunction, failed to activate and crumbled into ruin. Now tempered by time, the demon infiltrates Sensa the moment she crosses the threshold. Instead of attacking, the demon offers her an artifact capable of shifting between timelines. Along with it comes Riwa, a human child, who is revealed to be the key to unlocking the tower’s secrets. Sensa embarks on a journey through the Tower of RIWA, weaving between past and present in order to advance and ultimately solve the mysteries within.

Concept and Inspiration

RIWA is a game based around shifting time : past and present. A past where the tower is still in function and a present where nature has overgrown the tower and you can fill the toll on time upon the structure.It was mandatory to establish distinct color pallets for those two timelines. We decided to go for orange for the present with some blue energy lines running on the walls. Obviously, we did go for blueish green as our dominant tone in the present to accentuate the ruin aspect of the tower and the mystic atmosphere. As our main inspirations, we had the game Death’s Door due to the low poly artistic direction and also for the different edge highlights you can find across this game. But even if we went for a low poly style, we wanted to add a painterly effect on our textures to give them a bit more personality. Our second main inspiration, Immortal Fenyx Rising, then comes in. With vibrant colors and a painterly brush style, we loved the look of the game.

Game Design

In RIWA, every room is designed to enhance the player's sense of progression not only in mastering the mechanics but in understanding how they intertwine. The game follows a progressive learning approach: each core gameplay mechanic is introduced one at a time, in a clear and intuitive way, before being reused in increasingly complex and stimulating contexts.

This steady build-up, both narrative and mechanical, allows players to feel a true evolution in the way they approach puzzles. The challenge does not lie in raw difficulty, but rather in the player’s ability to combine previously learned mechanics and adapt them to new, often unexpected, situations especially through the game’s central feature: the ability to shift through time.

This design philosophy aims to deliver a rewarding experience, where each room completed feels like a meaningful step forward not only in exploring the tower, but in gaining a deeper understanding of how it works.

Gameplay Mechanics

One of the core goals of RIWA’s game design is to offer players a rich and evolving experience through a diverse set of complementary mechanics. Each new mechanic unlocks fresh ways to solve puzzles and deepens the player’s interaction with the environment. This diversity fuels curiosity, encourages experimentation, and supports a continuous sense of discovery.

Staying true to its mobile puzzle-exploration identity, the mechanics are designed to be intuitive and accessible from the very first minutes of play yet capable of combining together to form increasingly layered challenges. As the game progresses, players are invited to think creatively with the tools they've been given, never falling into repetitive patterns.

1. Time Shift

The central mechanic in RIWA is the ability to shift between two states of the tower: its functional past and its overgrown present. With the help of a mystical artifact, the player can toggle between these timelines at any moment. If Sensa appears inside a blocked space after the shift, she is safely teleported back to the room’s entrance.

Each time state presents a different layout of the same space intact structures and working machinery in the past, versus collapsed walls and invasive vegetation in the present. This duality creates multi-layered puzzles, requiring players to consider not just spatial logic, but temporal consequences. It’s a mechanic that encourages inventive thinking and lends itself particularly well to touch-based mobile interactions, allowing for smooth and satisfying transitions between timelines.

2. Object Movement and Rotation

When near certain objects, Sensa can move or rotate them to alter her surroundings. This mechanic offers a direct and intuitive interaction early in the game, and introduces spatial reasoning as players align or position key elements to solve puzzles whether it’s unlocking a path, aligning mechanisms, or directing beams of light to a target.

3. Soul Dissociation

Thanks to her spiritual nature, Sensa can separate her soul from her physical body by standing on special forest shrines. This allows the player to control a floating soul form capable of hovering over chasms and interacting with specific plant-based elements like causing vines to grow or retract.

This dissociation is limited to a fixed radius around her body, requiring careful planning and spatial awareness. It brings a new layer of puzzle-solving where players must ask: What can the body do? What can the soul reach? The answers often lead to elegant, multi-step solutions that highlight the depth of RIWA's system.

Rich and Varied Puzzles

RIWA makes the most of its core mechanics by combining them progressively to craft puzzles that are as creative as they are varied. Players are constantly encouraged to apply their knowledge in new ways mixing temporal shifts, physical manipulation, and spiritual traversal with context-specific gameplay elements. Below are a few representative examples :

1. Lasers and Rotating Mirrors

In one room, a laser must be directed through a series of pivoting mirrors to activate a long-dormant piece of tower technology. Players must observe their surroundings, test angles, and reposition objects to guide the beam to its destination. A classic logic and spatial reasoning puzzle.

2. Vines and Body Transport

With the help of soul dissociation, Sensa can grow vines across chasms, creating a natural bridge that allows her physical body to traverse previously unreachable areas. A satisfying moment of synergy between environmental interaction and movement.

3.Trapped Floor and Memory Puzzle

Here, the player must cross a deceptive grid where the wrong tile collapses beneath Sensa’s feet. The safe path is hidden and revealed only through dialogue with a nearby NPC. This puzzle adds a layer of narrative and memory, challenging attention and encouraging player curiosity.