Meet Galla, the developers behind Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo!

Learn more about the mysterious adventure in Limbo, where denizens are cursed to experience the same day over and over

We recently announced that Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo, made by Galla, is now a part of the Fellow Traveller family! Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo is a 3D adventure mystery where you must keep your wits about you, have a keen eye, and gather clues to solve the mystery of Limbo's curse.

You are Kulebra, a dead snake with a heart of gold that wakes up in Limbo. With the words of a strange old lady as your only lead, you will embark on a quest to find your purpose while sharing your light with the residents in hopes of helping them as well.

We talked to the developers at Galla about their work on the game, character inspiration, wholesomeness, and more.

Fellow Traveller (FT): Tell us about yourselves! Who are you and how did Galla start?

Paulo: We're a team of two brothers originally from the Dominican Republic. I’m Paulo Lara, the main artist, and my brother Pavel Lara is the main programmer. We started in game development back in 2014 inspired by the games we enjoyed as kids. Our first game was an endless-runner mobile game released in 2015. By the time it was released we had already moved to the United States, where we're currently located.

With the help of a talented musician in 2017, we started development on our first PC/Console game Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo.

FT: Tell us a bit about Kulebra and how development has gone to date.

Pavel: I have to say that development is going great. At least it's the most fun I've had tackling a project by far!

At a very early stage the development of the core gameplay was quite a slow and heavy process. Putting in the main aspects of the game took many iterations and a few shifts in direction, but once the core idea was established it's been a pretty smooth and interesting process.

Of course being an adventure game, every chapter we tackle brings its own box of surprises. Having the core gameplay in vision has always helped us keep things manageable while being fairly consistent, refreshing, and fun.

It's been interesting to look back at ideas from years ago and see them materialize. It is always an impressive experience during the process.

FT: What was the inspiration behind your main character Kulebra? Why are they a snake?

Paulo: This is a fun one! Kulebra was first designed as a simple mobile game focused on lore elements around it. It was an endless runner zig-zagging game in which you had to avoid hitting obstacles, and we thought a snake was the perfect main character. Due to technical limitations, we couldn't have a typical snake tail moving fluidly in game. We decided to chop the tail in pieces, and that's where the tail made of separate bones came from. The whole world of Kulebra grew from that initial idea.

The mobile game took place in the same universe of today's Kulebra, but the lore elements were shown as rewards for reaching further distances in game - things like written letters, new characters, toys, etc.

Kulebra and his universe grew on us quite a lot, so we had a pretty hard time shelving them for who knows how long. With that also came the feeling that the mobile market was not fitting for what we wanted to create, so we decided to restart the world of Kulebra and make it into a game we'd really be proud of.

So when you look back at the character's history it makes much more sense!

FT: Did you set out to create a wholesome game, or was that something you stumbled across in development?

Pavel: I would say that we didn't set out to create a wholesome game, but it came as a secondary effect because of the game's core nature. We think presenting a fun and interesting world with engaging characters is one of the most important aspects for a game to be impactful. With a game set in the afterlife, we thought the best way to experience it was by getting to know its people and helping them.

I guess everything else comes from the subjects the game tackles. Grief, love, happiness, and the search for selfless fulfillment. All wrapped around a colorful and inviting art style with the idea of letting the player know that they can approach these characters and their problems with a certain sense of humbleness and looseness that only comes from true kindness of the heart.

A happy accident of some sort.

FT: Is there a particular message you want players to take away from their time with Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo?

Paulo: The game presents many different situations and perspectives that you can experience and learn from, but a central theme of Kulebra is showing both the good and the bad that comes from helping others. Is it worth the effort and sacrifice? That's for you to decide, but we like to think so.
FT: And with that, we’d like to thank you for talking about sharing your thoughts and experiences with Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo!

To learn more about Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo and the Galla team, check out the game on Steam, visit the website,  follow Galla and us on Twitter or join in the discussion on the Fellow Traveller Discord server.