Turbo Pudding

TirraleeMeet the cast

Meet the six spirits who live higher up the Tree

· The Turbo Pudding team · 4 min read

At night on a lilac stone floor under dark purple hills, Tirra, the round apricot fledgling with a three-feather crest, stands on the left with beak open after a bubble, Lee, the round lilac fledgling with a curl on top and a curled tail feather, faces left on the right, and between them sits a Nimbling, a chubby little white cloud with a gray face and sleepy half-closed eyes, wrapped in a thin bubble film under a gray scribble cloud, with a row of lilac blocks floating overhead

The first two levels of Tirralee are a meadow, and its spirits are easy to get to know: Stomplings walk, Chirpets hop. But the Skyward Tree is very tall, and the higher Tirra and Lee climb, the more tricks its spirits have. Here are six who live further up, in the rain, in the clouds and in the night.

What every spirit has in common

Every spirit in the Tree has lost its song, and you can see it: the lost song hangs over its head as a small gray scribble of a cloud. Catch a spirit in a bubble, and it floats away inside. Wait too long, and it wriggles free, angry and 60 percent faster than before, until the next bubble calms it down.

Pop the bubble instead, and the spirit spins off and lands as a treat. Bubbles that touch pop together, and every spirit in a chain lands as a bigger treat than the one before: a berry, a bun, a rice ball, a cake, a pie, a cup of tea and, at the very top, a pink mochi worth 5,000 points.

Burrnut, the one who throws

The Burrnut turns up when the rain starts, in level 5. It is a chestnut in a spiky green case, split open in front to show a round brown face.

When a fledgling is on the same level, in front of it and within eleven tiles, the Burrnut stops, puffs out its cheeks until they go pink and throws a soft chestnut burr that spins as it flies. A burr that hits costs a heart, so be ready to jump.

In the rain, Tirra, a round apricot fledgling with a three-feather crest, stands on a gray stone ledge with mint-green tops, facing right across a gap, while a spiky green chestnut burr flies toward Tirra from a Burrnut on the next ledge, a chestnut in a spiky green case split open in front to show a brown face with puffed pink cheeks and a gray scribble cloud above it, with a big soft white cloud, slanting raindrops and a gray stone wall behind
Searched “cute platformer chestnut enemy.” It threw one back.

Coneroll, the one who charges

Up in the clouds, from level 7, lives the Coneroll: a pinecone with rows of scales, two eyes peeking out between them and a little green sprout on top. When a fledgling stands on its level, ahead of it and within nine tiles, it dashes at almost three times its usual speed, with speed lines streaming behind it. The dash lasts less than a second, and while it lasts, the Coneroll doesn’t stop at the edge of a ledge. Stand at the far end of a short ledge, and a Coneroll may charge straight off it.

On a ledge of white cloud blocks under a pale pink sky, a Coneroll, a round brown pinecone with rows of scales, two eyes peeking out between them, a little green sprout on top and a gray scribble cloud above, dashes right with white speed lines behind it toward Tirra, the apricot fledgling, who stands a few steps away facing it, with lilac pillars hanging from above
Typed “rolling pinecone game.” It was already rolling.

Shellie, the shy one

Shellie is a snail with a cream body and a spiral shell with a tiny chimney on top that puffs little clouds of smoke. A bubble flying at her face sends her straight into her shell, and the bubble just glances off it with a clink.

She only watches the way she is facing, though. A bubble from behind catches her, no trouble at all. Or wait: after a moment she peeks out with two eyes, and right after that there is a short window when she won’t hide again. The game says it best: “The snail hides from a bubble in front of her. Try from behind, or wait till she peeks out.”

In light rain over green hills, Shellie the snail is tucked all the way into her orange swirl shell at the end of a gray stone ledge, a tiny chimney on the shell puffing white smoke and a gray scribble cloud above her, while Lee, a round lilac fledgling with a curl on top and a curled tail feather, blows a clear bubble straight at her from one step away
People also ask: how do you catch a snail who sees you coming?

One more thing about Shellie: she loves the rain. Under a rain cloud she comes out of her shell and forgets to hide.

Jellydrop, the one who follows

From level 8 on, a Jellydrop drifts through the clouds. It is a rain jellyfish, a soft see-through dome trailing wavy pink strands of rain. It doesn’t walk at all. It simply drifts after the nearest fledgling, wobbling up and down as it goes.

It is one of the slowest spirits in the Tree, but it never stops following.

Against a pale pink sky, a Jellydrop, a see-through pale blue dome with two big eyes, wavy pink strands of rain trailing below it and a gray scribble cloud above, drifts beside a ledge of white cloud blocks, while Lee, the round lilac fledgling, stands on a lower cloud ledge to the right, facing it with sleepy half-closed eyes
“Jellyfish game that follows you around.” It took that literally.

Skimmer and Nimbling, at night

Level 9 is night, and two new spirits come with it. The Skimmer is a pond skater, a small body held high on four long, thin legs. It is the quickest walker in the Tree and quick to hop up to a fledgling on a higher ledge.

The Nimbling is the opposite: a chubby little cloud from Nimbo’s flock, with a gray face, tiny feet and eyes that are always half closed. She is too heavy for one bubble. The first only wraps her in a thin film that slows her down for a couple of seconds, as in the picture at the top. In the game’s words: “The little cloud is heavy: one bubble only wraps her. A second one catches her!”

A little help from the Tree

Now and then a present appears on a ledge. Mama’s gray lullaby feather, with a note on it, makes every spirit in the room stand still for six seconds under a thin coat of frost, and a frozen spirit can’t hurt anyone. And some bubbles hold a little rain cloud: pop one, and it rains for four seconds onto the spirits below, slowing them to half speed. Those soaked through are set free and land as treats.

Play alone, or with a friend on one keyboard: Tirra on the arrow keys, Lee on A, D and W. The first two levels are free to play in your browser at tirralee.com; the full game is $4.99, paid once. More about the game is on its Tirralee page.

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