LHEA & The Word Spirit: A Singularly relaxing roguelike experience

Back when I made my original, fateful Twitter post back in June, one of the many games that caught my eye immediately was LHEA & the Word Spirit. This delightfully different roguelike is based on music and words, and if there are two things I absolutely adore aside from indie games, it’s music and words. 

LHEA & The Word Spirit, developed by Soul Fuel Games, is a roguelike unlike any other that I have played before, and I’ve recently been playing a surprising number of roguelikes. It is not only adorable to look at, but there are so many combined mechanics that make it stand out from the crowd. 

A meaningful and well-told story

Going into my first experience with LHEA, I wasn’t expecting to be as touched by the premise as I ended up being. You are Lhea, an on/off deceased person who can consciously see the In-Between, where all souls go between one life and the next. While most souls go through the In-Between without knowing about it, Lhea is special, and she has a very big job to do whenever she ends up in this strange place.

Within the In-Between, there are five realms that Lhea needs to “seal” by freeing souls trapped inside. On her journey, she discovers new words to use as attacks, gains wisdom, and grows in strength. If she runs out of Essence, which is the form of life used in this place, she will go on to the next life and return a couple of hundred years later to try again. 

This whole journey is guided by the Word Spirit, who has been trapped in the In-Between for far longer than Lhea, constantly reviewing the souls who pass through. This adorable little spirit friend is always around to offer advice, comfort, or, at times, even friendship. 

A battle of life and death

While in the In-Between, Lhea uses her Fate Flute and many rings, each imbued with a word, to free spirits from the In-Between, allowing them to move on to their next lives. A basic attack is equal to the number of letters in a word, but some words have special abilities or perks attached, upping the damage. Placing a ring in its ideal slot on the Fate Flute boosts your attack damage even further. 

Even as I write this, I’m very aware that the battle system is a little hard to describe in words alone, but rest assured that it’s not as complicated as it sounds. It is a little confusing at first, but after undertaking a few battles, you’ll soon pick it up and start seeing those satisfying big damage numbers floating on the screen.

Every time Lhea is defeated, you can use any knowledge you’ve picked up (by freeing souls, talking to the Word Spirit, or finding duplicate words) to purchase perks that make the next run easier. That’s where the roguelike element comes in. 

The most relaxing roguelike?

The biggest thing that struck me while playing LHEA was how relaxed I felt, which is a lot considering the fact that there was building work happening in the room next door while I was playing. I routinely struggle with roguelikes (although this is a lessening occurrence), so feeling so utterly chilled out while playing this one came as a surprise to me. 

The soundtrack of LHEA is definitely a huge help in terms of how relaxing the game is to play. The music is soothing and calm; even your attacks are played to a melody that blends in with the background tune, like you’re playing a song right along with it. This is true to the point that turning off the background music feels wrong, like something is missing.

LHEA & The Word Spirit was released on September 22, 2025, and is a charming, gorgeous roguelike that offers a singularly relaxing experience for the genre, at least in my experience. It’s available on PC, Android, and iOS.