Publisher(s): First Break Labs
Platform(s): PC (Steam), Steam Deck, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: Q3 2025
ILA: A Frosty Glide is a game set on a magical island that has you playing as ILA, a new witch in training to learn about her magical powers while she searches for her lost cat named Coco. ILA rides around on a skatebroom that she can glide around on while also clinging to and then bouncing back off of walls, ground pounding to unlock chests and collectibles, and more. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the new, expanded demo for ILA: A Frosty Glide at GDC 2025 courtesy of First Break Labs.
This was my first time with the game, as I did not play the demo available currently on Steam until after I returned from GDC. ILA: A Frosty Glide is definitely a cozy-genre game. The music, scored by Joaquim Scandurra (Sku) really set the relaxing vibe as I explored the open world atmosphere. The graphical style is fairly distinct with blocky trees, plants, treasure boxes, and even the ice buried into the cliffsides, are in that same design. While I won’t spoil the extended demo for you for when it comes out, suffice to say that the open world is bigger than what it seems like in the first demo.
The gameplay mechanics were surprisingly fluid. You can jump and then hold down a button to glide while on your skatebroom across gaps. There are patches of ice built into cliffs, ledges, and the mountain that you can stick your broom into. Once you are stuck into it, you can then launch yourself off of it into another direction and glide further. While I thought this mechanic could use a bit more starting height off of the jump (I fell a few times because I hadn’t timed it correctly from the initial jump, and so I was too low for the rejump), I thought it worked quite well. Ground-pounding to open chests works perfectly. Otherwise, ILA controlled quite well, and I was pleased to see my progress up the mountain.
Also, quite helpfully, I never felt lost in ILA: A Frosty Glide. One of the biggest issues that I’ve run into with an open-world-esque game is that there is often no real guidance on where you should go next or what you should do. Thankfully, that is not the case here. Aside from pathways and small signs stuck into the ground that can give you a general idea of where to go, the game’s goal of going ‘up’ really had me constantly looking around at “okay, how can I get even higher and move forward”? It’s a clever game design feature that works genuinely well in ensuring you can absolutely go exploring in ILA: A Frosty Glide while never getting too lost.
Overall, ILA: A Frosty Glide is just absolutely cozy gaming, and that thought kept going through my mind as I played the demo at GDC 2025. This game, developed by a 14-person team out of Barcelona, gives me the same comfortable, relaxing, chill vibes as A Short Hike and Ooblets, and I thought it was the perfect way to kick off my week at GDC.
Are you excited for a new, expanded demo for ILA: A Frosty Glide?
What kind of magic do you hope to see ILA do in the final game?
Let us know in the comments below!
