🧭 Exploration & Traversal Guide - Routes & Secrets

The Merlies is a "wholesomevania" — a metroidvania with the combat removed, explored at your own pace. The map hides passages that only open as your squad grows and learns new skills, so exploration is a spiral: push out, hit a wall, grow the flock, come back. Five biome layers structure the world: the village, the forest canopy, the pond wetlands, the city ruins and the underground pipes.

• Bounce: jump on mushrooms to send your Merlies up into the sky (official) — the vertical boost of the green biomes.
• Climb: scale electric cables and fallen billboards (official) — the high roads of the ruins.
• Squeeze: explore empty pipes (official) — the underground network beneath everything.

The in-game map arrived in the June 2026 demo update ("to help you find your way through the different areas and secrets"), and thematically the community's map is itself an upcycled slate. Use it for structure — biome edges, known passages, the route home — but keep your eyes on the screen for what maps do not show: tucked-away lost Merlies and scraps in odd corners.

Good routes are loops that end at the village. Pick a target biome, choose squad members whose movement suits it (climbers for the ruins, gliders for the wetlands), note the sealed passages you pass, and always leave margin to bring a rescued bird home safely. After launch, this guide will carry full biome-by-biome route maps — the bones above are the officially confirmed shape of the game.