Getting Started in Lunarium

Lunarium launches on Steam July 29, 2026 as a hand-drawn isometric action RPG. You control Ave, a light-armored knight specializing in close-quarters swordplay, while Lune — a flaxen-haired Starfarer — floats beside you casting magic. This getting started guide explains what happens in your opening sessions, how save points work, and which wiki pages to read next so you are not overwhelmed when difficulty ramps up in the Ruined Castle or Dreamlike Archipelago.

What kind of game is Lunarium?

Lunarium blends soulslike tension with a gentler narrative focus. Combat is demanding and animation-driven, but benches and the Temple give you structured breathing room. The isometric camera is functional, not decorative: you read enemy tells from a distance, spot shortcuts, and notice environmental puzzles Lune can solve. If you arrive expecting pure Dark Souls rolling, adjust early — parry-first defense is the design center, as covered in Combat, Parry & Dodge.

You do not swap characters. Ave handles movement, attacks, dodges, and parries. Lune responds to resonance commands and story moments, weakening foes and clearing obstacles. Their relationship deepens at benches through short dialogues, similar in structure to Ender Lilies but with more emphasis on companionship.

Lunarium Demo Gameplay Walkthrough

First steps after launch

1. Complete the tutorial combat in the Forgotten Forest outskirts. Practice parrying slow enemy swings before dodging everything.
2. Reach your first bench — Lunarium’s save and rest hub. Resting refills Prayers (healing items) and HP, but respawns cleared trash mobs.
3. Visit the Temple when the story directs you. This blessed sanctuary lets you upgrade equipment with materials and preview embroidery slots on cloaks.
4. Equip a basic cloak preset and one or two embroideries that match your preferred style — aggressive parry rewards vs. safer dodge windows. See Embroidery Guide and Cloak System.
5. Unlock early skill nodes for Ave and Lune after your first boss or major encounter. Skill Tree Guide lists priority picks.

Benches: save, heal, and story

Benches function like bonfires in other action RPGs but with a cozier tone. Interacting with a bench saves progress, restores health, replenishes Prayers, and often triggers a quiet exchange between Ave and Lune. Use benches before exploring side paths in World Map regions you do not know yet.

Important habits:

• Rest before attempting a new boss — full Prayer stock matters in long fights.
• Manage respawns: farming materials near a bench is fine; backtracking through cleared rooms costs time.
• Check cloak and embroidery loadouts at every bench during learning phases.

Prayers and healing

Prayers are Lunarium’s estus-style healing. They are limited until you rest or find upgrades scattered through Items & Materials. Do not spam Prayers during learnable patterns; instead, parry or dodge once, observe, then heal if you misread a combo.

Early game Prayer discipline separates smooth runs from death spirals. If you enter a fight at half health with one Prayer left, consider retreating to the bench — the Forgotten Forest allows that mercy more than later vertical castle sections.

Your first combat loop

A typical encounter looks like this:

1. Ave closes distance while watching wind-ups.
2. Parry blue-flash attacks or dodge wide sweeps you cannot safely deflect.
3. Lune automatically contributes chip damage; you manually trigger resonance spends once the shared meter fills — details in Resonance System.
4. Staggered enemies expose a lethal coordination window — press the advantage before they recover.
5. Collect dropped materials and embroidery shards, then return to the Temple for upgrades.

Controls reminder

Before leaving the forest, open settings and confirm Controls bindings for keyboard or controller. Rebinding is supported on Steam builds. Camera nudge with the right stick (controller) helps in tight isometric corners.

Demo vs. full game

Preview builds sometimes drop players into chapter two rather than the true opening. If you played the demo first, read Demo Walkthrough to reconcile what you saw with the retail Forgotten Forest intro. Systems — benches, Prayers, resonance, embroidery — remain consistent.

Where to go next

After the forest temple arc, difficulty jumps in the Ruined Castle. Prepare with Combat, Parry & Dodge, Boss Guide, and Temple Upgrades so Ave’s sword keeps pace with golem-heavy encounters. Story-minded players should skim Endings Guide mid-game to understand which choices matter for Lunarium’s two finales.

Lunarium asks for patience, but it teaches rather than punishes blindly. Learn the bench rhythm, respect parry timing, and let Lune’s magic open paths Ave cannot reach alone — that partnership is the heart of the adventure.