The 2025 Abragames Pitch Contest, held duringGamescom LATAM 2025, concluded with a victory for Mito Games’Tupi: The Legend of Arariboia,a roguelite RPG featuring monster recruitment, base building, Social Links, and more.Tupitells a fantastical story based in Brazilian culture and mythology, with gameplay reminiscent of theShin Megami TenseiandPersonaseries. Protagonist Arariboia must gain the aid of an expansive cast of spirits to restore his destroyed village and save his people.
Game Rant spoke withTupi’sgame director Leon Zigoni, lead programmer Rafael Calmon, and Mito Games CPO, Rafael Lontra, aboutTupi’sinspiration, development process, and more. They discussed elements they drew from games such asShin Megami TenseiandHades,some of their favorite spirits that appear in the game, and how winning the Abragames Pitch award affectedTupi’songoing development.This transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Tupi: The Legend of ArariboiaTakes Place In A Rich World Of Spirits And Legends
Q: What drew you to choose Arariboia as your game’s protagonist?
Zigoni: Arariboia is a hugely important historical figure for Brazil and has a fantastic history. His village was destroyed by rival Indigenous groups, and he had to rebuild everything from scratch in a distant land. He eventually became the chief of his people and a brilliant warrior and strategist. He played a key role in the war to reclaim the region that would later becomeRio de Janeiro, which today is one of Brazil’s biggest cultural and tourist postcards.
Because his story is so impactful and there’s very little documentation from that time, a lot of legends have grown around this heroic figure. That gives us the perfect chance to build afantasy world inspired by a Brazil in the makingand share our culture and visual wonders with the rest of the world.
Q: I love the many creatures and spirits available to befriend in Tupi. Even in the demo, you can see there are so many of them! Do you guys have a personal favorite creature in the game?
Zigoni: The only right and honest answer would be theCapybara. But within the team, we always joke around and talk about our second favorite spirits. My favorite is the Ipê, that winter tree, always catching a cold and sipping some tea.
Rafael Calmon, our Game Designer and Lead Programmer, loves the Mandacaru, the masked flower cactus spirit that strikes a balance between creepy and kind. And Helena Mogim, our Art Director, is all about the Baiacu, cute, but with those poisonous spikes for protection.
For the owners, Rafael Lontra and Marcelo Herzog, they prefer the Saci, since it’s a childhood favorite from their time, and it’s really nice to see a refreshed version of it, with its own lore and new nuances that we created for the game. So being able to participate in this rewriting of our culture is a really interesting touch.
Q: Tupi’s creatures draw very heavily from Brazilian mythology. What are some myths and stories in particular that inspired the game’s creatures?
Zigoni:Brazilis the fifth-largest country in the world by land area, home to six distinct biomes and over 300 Indigenous groups encompassing a vast range of ethnicities. Its cultural landscape is further enriched by a profound fusion of European and African heritage, interwoven across the country’s five regions.
Tupi: The Legend of Arariboiadraws heavily from the mythologies of our Indigenous peoples, with the central storyline and main characters deeply rooted in research and references from Tupi and Guarani cosmologies.
When it came to designing the spirits, however, our ambition was broader. We aimed to represent the full spectrum of the cultural mosaic that shapes Brazilian identity. So, alongside legendary Indigenous figures like the Caipora, we introduced spirits inspired by Afro-Brazilian traditions, such as the Sigidi, as well as folkloric beings from the Northeastern region, like the Boi-Bumbá and Mandacaru. We also included mythological elements that evolved from European legends, which over time became part of Brazilian folklore, such as the Lobisomem, awerewolf, and the Cotaluna, a kind of river siren.
Q: Can you also talk about the real-life South American animals you used as inspiration? I love the winged tamarin creature in particular. It’s so cute.
Zigoni:Beyond drawing inspiration from our mythology, many of our spirits are also deeply rooted inBrazil’s rich biodiversity, embodying iconic elements of our native fauna and flora, such as the capybara, maned wolf, guaraná, and many others. Each animal and plant in our culture often carries with it a story passed down through generations, preserving the enchantment surrounding these living beings.
We see this storytelling as a beautiful and vital way to foster respect for and preservation of our biodiversity. Take thegolden-handed tamarin, for example, as you mentioned. According to legend, this curious little primate once tried to touch the sun, nearly shattering it and plunging the world into darkness. As a reminder of this mischievous act, Guaraci, the Sun god, marked its hands with golden hues so it would never forget.
Stories like this inspire our entire creative process. Our artists study these myths in depth and weave their essence into each creature’s visual identity. That’s why, in our version, this mischievous, cute tamarin now sports a majestic pair of wings.
Q: What can you tell us about the Three Primordial Spirits and their Guardians whom Arariboia encounters on his journey?
Zigoni: The three Forest Guardians are primordial spirits that wield theelemental powers of the forest. At the start of his journey, Arariboia is guided by a mysteriousPajé, a spiritual leader from our Indigenous culture. Through him, Arariboia learns how to purify the spirits of the forest that are being corrupted by spreading darkness. To gain the strength needed to fight this darkness and reclaim his land, he sets out to earn the trust of the three guardians.
Their designs are inspired by natural landmarks from our region, places that are both culturally and touristically iconic. Theseelemental spirits of fire, water, and earthare known in the Tupi language as: Py’a Ybytyra (The Heart of the Mountain), Îaratatá (Flamebearer), and Îy Pyasab (River Weaver).
In the demo already available on Steam, players will get the chance to explore the game’s first region and try to earn the trust of Îaratatá, the jaguarguardian of the primordial flame. Listen closely and show respect for his lessons. This guardian only grants his power to those who truly prove themselves worthy of his teachings.
The Game Was Inspired By Shin Megami Tensei, Hades,And More
Q: You mention that your two biggest inspirations forTupiwereShin Megami TenseiandHades. What elements of Tupi were inspired by those games?
Calmon:In both cases, we were inspired by the way they present theirmythological aspects. We knew from early on that we wanted Brazilian folklore to be at the forefront, along with certain historical characters. As such, we pivoted to look for inspiration in games we thought did that well.
FromShin Megami Tensei, our approach to our monster-taming elements was inspired by theirs, both for gameplay and creature designs. TheShin Megami Tenseiseries was able to popularize elements from many cultures around the world that would otherwise not reach the general public. They did so by making the creatures based on those cultures one of the core elements of the games, creating popular designs that would appeal to the players. You fight them, you interact with them, you bring them to your side. That’s the core main loop of many monster-taming games.
We brought that aspect into our own game, allowing you to fight and recruit to your team a diverse array of creatures from Brazilian/South American flora, fauna, and folklore, each with unique designs brought by our artists. We have also included some other mechanics, such as fusing creatures, that should be familiar to fans of theShin Megami TenseiandPersonaseries.
As forHades, we drew inspiration from their depictions of Greek mythology and their Dynamic Narrative systems to develop our own characters and narrative, as well as tie them to the roguelite gameplay loop. Our team was captivated by the way they implement their narrative, which draws from aspects that already exist for their characters in Greek mythology and develops into an original narrative driven by characters with original personalities and quirks that go beyond their myths.
Drawing inspiration from them, we are implementing adynamic narrativethat unravels based on the players’ experiences during gameplay. Upon returning to the village, the cast, which includes a mix of historical, folklore, and original characters, will have different dialogues based on what the player has encountered and what they have achieved.
Q:Tupicombines many gameplay elements: turn-based grid combat, roguelike elements, monster recruitment and fusion, base building, Social Links, and more. What was it like combining all of these elements into one game?
Calmon: It is always a challenge when you havea lot of tools and featuresyou want to give the players for them to play around with. You want them to feel engaging and meaningful while also not too powerful as to make other aspects of the game trivial or irrelevant.
Our core focus was to ensure that our systems complemented each other. The base building/management aspect allowed us to implement themeta-progression systems of roguelike/roguelite gamesin a way that the players can engage more with, as well as introduce a place to interact with the characters.
Thegrid-based combatallows for an added layer of complexity when creating teams and builds, which the recruitment, fusion, and skill transfer/upgrade systems enable by allowing you to mix and match them often. And finally, Social Links offer an interesting way to tell the narrative by tying it to a system that encourages you to engage with the characters to advance their relationships and, in turn, also unlock progress for the base.
That said, what made doing so more manageable is that several of these systems weren’t there at the start.They would appear organically as we tried to solve the puzzle of how to make the other systems work. We began with the idea of “How do we make aroguelitemonster tamer?” and from there, many of these systems came to be either to solve a problem in an ingenious way, or simply as we saw an opportunity to add something cool. So, in the end, some of these systems came not as a new puzzle to solve, but as a solution for the ones we already had.
Q: Could you tell us some more about theShin Megami Tensei-inspired creature fusion system and how it works in the game?
Calmon: Our system should feel very familiar to those who have played theShin Megami Tenseiseries. You take 2 or more creatures from your team as fusion materials and acquire a new one based on what you used. The difference is that ours is aroguelite RPG. As such, rather than a fixed, singular resulting creature, you get 3 options from which you may choose 1 to add to your team. But it is not completely random.
Our creatures are divided by Rank, with higher-ranking creatures boasting higher initial stats and a slightly stronger set of skills they may spawn with. Whenfusing at least 2 creaturesof the same Rank, you are guaranteed to get a result of the next higher Rank. After choosing the result you want, the new creature gains a boost of EXP based on the combined Level and Rank of the creatures used as materials. Additionally, you get to transfer skills from the materials to the new creature.
Fusion is one of the best ways to acquire strong creatures for your team during a run. We are also considering ways to add more to this feature, such as upgrades through meta progression that offer new options during Fusion, such as focusing on a specific type of creature to narrow the possible results. We also intend to implementFusion “recipes”,which are secret combinations of creatures that result in a specific creature, some of which may only be found that way.
Q: The demo ofTupihas some very challenging bosses for players to face. What advice would you give to players about facing down particularly tricky bosses in your game?
Calmon:The best way totackle a bossis with a strong team.We highly recommend using the Fusion system to create higher Rank spirits, as well as upgrading your team’s skills often. Characters gain 1 Upgrade Skill point on a level up, and can keep up to 3, so no point hoarding them. You can also upgrade a skill by taking the same skill from a defeated enemy! When a skill is upgraded to max, you will be able to Rank it up, which gives you the option to choose 1 out of 2-3 much stronger skills to transform it into.
Aim for weaknesses.Breaking the enemy can immediately turn the tables on a fight. Not only is their turn heavily delayed, but they become weak to ALL TYPES of damage.So, when they break, blast them with your strongest attacks regardless of type.
Finally, don’t neglect the boss’s Omen. Every boss has an Omen tailored specifically for them on the top right of the combat screen. Some are quite nasty, such as The Beast Prince’s Hunter’s Bane, which will literally Break your team when it triggers. Check the Omen, know the enemy’s passive trait (every creature has one), and they will be less likely to catch you by surprise.
Looking Forward: The Future For Mito Games And Tupi
Q: What do the next few months of development look like for your team?
Lontra:We’ve been receiving incredible feedback since the release of our demo onSteam, and the team has been working tirelessly to polish and enhance various aspects of the experience. Our goal is to launch an updated version in time for the Brazil Game Show this October, one of the largest gaming events in Latin America.
Multiple production fronts are evolving simultaneously. We’re currently implementing voice acting and an original soundtrack to deepen theemotional resonance of the narrative and dialogues. At the same time, we’re expanding the game world with new content for upcoming regions, including additional characters, extended story chapters, new structures for the village, and, of course, a whole host of new spirits for players to encounter and challenge.
Q: How has winning the Abragames Pitch contest at Gamescom LATAM affected development, and what will that change for you going forward?
Lontra:It was a massive morale boost for the whole team. This, by itself, is already a great prize, but it also opened the doors for contacts with international publishers.
Of course, having a prize to show helps with negotiations, showing on the game page, etc. And we are already in talks with 2 of the 3 juries of the contest who really loved our game. There are also practical aspects. For winning the prize, we automatically wona spot in Gamescom LATAM next year, which is great. And we are already planning the future steps, considering that.
Regarding the changes in the development path, the whole event showed us how we can improve our game, but it was also a big validation that we are on the right path. And, of course, we are looking forward to having experienced partners abroad to help us guide the project, but we are doing well with our research, decisions, and development, which is always great to realize.
Q:Is there anything else you’d like to tell Game Rant’s readers aboutTupi: The Legend of Arariboia?
Lontra: If you liked this interview, then honestly, you need to come check outTupi: The Legend of Arariboia. The demo is live right now on Steam, and it already features dozens of spirits to recruit, fuse, and evolve, as well as one of our major guardian bosses to challenge. It’s a fully playable slice of the game, and we’re already working hard to bring it to consoles later this year, including full controller support on PC. Please wishlist it on Steam andplay the demo.
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Tupi: The Legend of Arariboiais in development with a free demo available on Steam.
