The core loop
Hela’s progression is built around a repeated loop:
- Leave the cottage and explore forests, meadows, wetlands and burrows.
- Gather ingredients and resources.
- Return to the witch’s cottage and open the recipe book.
- Brew a potion or remedy.
- Use the new ability or tool to open a route, solve a puzzle or help a creature.
- Repeat with a new destination.
If you feel stuck, the answer is usually “you have not brewed the thing the next area expects yet” — not “you missed a hidden combat upgrade”.
First-hour checklist
- Learn Froggy’s basic movement: leap, swing and interact.
- Brew your first potion (achievement: Something’s Brewing).
- Try a physics puzzle: push, roll or drop an object instead of looking for a switch.
- In solo, summon a Shade copy at a puzzle that seems to need two mice.
- Test local split-screen if you plan to play with someone on the couch.
- Check the recipe book before selling or ignoring a new ingredient.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not treat it as a platformer to speedrun. The world is built around curiosity; story fragments and routes are often off the obvious path.
- Do not ignore the recipe book. Brewing is the main progression system, not a side activity.
- Do not force co-op puzzles solo without Shade. The Shade System exists so solo players can still solve multi-mouse puzzles.
- Do not expect combat. The official material describes a relaxed adventure; there is no combat loop to prepare for.