Apogee Entertainment and developer The Matte Black Studio have released a new trailer that shows off a release window for upcoming Celesteoidvania, Lucid.
This new trailer comes as part of the Winter OTK 2025 Games Expo, and sadly for those of us that have been following Lucid for a while, it’s coming in… Spring 2026. Still, better the game is polished and full done than rushed, and hey, Spring starts in March so that’s not too long, right?
Created by solo developer Eric Manahan of The Matte Black Studio, LUCID blends action, mobility, and narrative into a “Celestoidvania” 2D RPG. The latest trailer showcases the core tenets of LUCID, providing a crystal-clear glimpse into what the game has to offer fans of platformers, narrative-heavy RPGs, and side-scrolling beat-’em-ups. Several new characters, including bosses and allies alike, are shown for the first time, as well as some of protagonist Oenn’s advanced skills that he must employ when journeying across the fractured world of Aedyn.
Bound by a promise, LUCID protagonist Oenn is a young Sentinel who ventures into a crystal-punk world shattered by catastrophe. Along the journey, Oenn absorbs powerful abilities that sharpen movement and amplify combat, opening new ways to explore and strike against enemies and towering bosses. Inspired by the golden age of 2D sidescrollers, LUCID captures the spirit of classic platformers and elevates it with modern design. The result is fast, action-driven gameplay wrapped in a rich and memorable narrative.
We spoke to Eric Manahan (The Matte Black Studio) about Lucid pretty recently. You can read our full interview here, where he told us “Development has been really rewarding. I left a 10-year architectural career to pursue this dream, so any day I am working on LUCID is a good one. While I consider myself a solo developer, I have subcontractors who occasionally assist me with their skills and talents”.
We also asked about story and gameplay, and how the balance would be, and Eric said: “It’s a bit of both. A lot of the lore and world-building will be done the Fromsoft way through environmental storytelling and item descriptions. However, it’s one or two levels less obtuse, and NPCs are far less cryptic. A best of both worlds in my opinion.”
Lucid is coming to PC in Spring 2026.
