Ukrainian game based on Oksana Bula’s Tukoni universe released

Ukrainian indie game “Tukoni: Forest Keepers,” based on the Tukoni universe created by Ukrainian artist, author, and illustrator Oksana Bula, was released on Aug. 17 on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and GOG.

The puzzle adventure was developed by Ukrainian studio Dream Operator in collaboration with Bula, the author and illustrator of the Tukoni books.

In “Tukoni: Forest Keepers,” players take on the role of the Traveller, a forest spirit who explores hand-drawn locations, meets different characters, solves puzzles, collects herbs and tea recipes, and helps the forest prepare for winter.

The game continues Dream Operator’s work with Bula’s Tukoni universe. In 2020, Dream Operator and Bula released “Tukoni: Prologue,” a free point-and-click puzzle adventure based on Bula’s books that introduced players to the world of the Tukoni.

In a LinkedIn post marking the release of “Tukoni: Forest Keepers,” Dream Operator senior game designer Oleksii Furman said the project grew out of an idea that emerged in 2019. He thanked players for supporting the team over the years and said development continued despite the challenges of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, including missile attacks and power outages.

“We kept going even when we thought, ‘We can’t do this’ — through rocket attacks and power outages,” Furman wrote.

Alongside the game, Bula and artist Kateryna Ustymenko created a 160-page digital artbook. It includes concept art, sketches, characters, locations, stories, and notes about the Tukoni world, documenting how the game’s visual style and ideas developed from early sketches into the finished project. The artbook is also included in the game’s Collector’s Edition.

As reported earlier, “Tukoni: Forest Keepers” had already received international recognition before its release. In November 2025, the game won the Excellence in Visual Art category at the DevGAMM Awards in Lisbon.