Secrets of Rætikon

Secrets of Rætikon is a 2D side-scrolling action game set in an open world with a focus on exploration and physics-based interaction. The player controls a colourful, winged creature that can freely soar through the sky. The goal of the game is to uncover the titular secrets in a savage mountain area of the Alps where it crashes. There are forests to uncover, as well as caves mountaintops and thunderstorms.

The bird can fly in any direction with a large amount of interaction in the environment. It is able to hold on to rocks, creatures and objects to carry or pull them. Stones can be dragged away to open up areas, small creatures can be picked up, objects are brought together to solve puzzles, saplings can be uprooted to uncover health, etc. The bird is also able to dive down at a fast speed. There is a type of sandbox approach to the environment encouraging creativity where many interactions are not necessary to progress through the game. Small birds can be freed, you can hatch them yourself, there are powerful birds to fight with, squirrels will attempt to steal the objects you carry, gusts of wind can steer you away, etc. The game can freely be explored in any direction and all abilities are available right away; there are no upgrades to uncover to open up new paths like in the metroidvania games. The game is largely organized in three chapters. There is an ecosystem to the game where animals will interact with each other based on behaviour. Different types of animals include rabbits, squirrels, lynxes, fish, small birds, buzzards and daws.

The most important puzzles consist of ancient contraptions and animal kings. These are activated by collecting slivers, small fragments, and then releasing them. The position of nearby slivers can be revealed by screaming. The game also contains a large amount of rune stones. The story is told there in a Rætic alphabet and the player can collect rune orbs to translate the text gradually.

The Steam version of the game integrates Steam Workshop. Players can edit any of the existing levels and design custom ones to share them with other players. The visual style and some gameplay elements borrow from an the earlier title Chasing Aurora by the same developer.