There’s a monster standing between you and a pile of treasure. You could fight it, but that sounds like unnecessary effort when you’ve got a perfectly good eraser in your pocket. A few quick rubs later, the monster’s gone, the treasure’s yours, and you’re feeling rather pleased with yourself. Then you reach a massive gap in the floor. No bridge, no convenient platform, and nowhere else to go.Time to get the paintbrush out.
The Cartoon Adventures is a hand-drawn action-platformer roguelite from GoldenEggs that’s taking part in October’s Steam Next Fest. You’ll explore randomized comic-book pages, battle strange creatures, and use drawing tools to change the world around you. Apparently, being made of ink comes with a few advantages.
Somebody’s Ruined the Comic Book!
Meet Yellow Doodle, a cheerful little cartoon character living in a world that’s having a terrible time. The comic’s inhabitants have lost their happiness, and a mysterious villain known as the Duke of Gloom appears to be responsible. Somebody needs to investigate, restore a little joy, and find out what’s really going on. That responsibility falls to Yellow Doodle.
Your adventure takes you through colorful comic-book panels packed with enemies, obstacles, and hidden surprises. You’ll jump between platforms, explore unusual environments, and discover that being a tiny drawing in a dangerous world isn’t always easy. Thankfully, Yellow Doodle has a couple of tricks that most platforming heroes would love to get their hands on.
Have You Tried Erasing the Problem?
Your eraser isn’t just for correcting mistakes. It’s one of your most useful weapons, allowing you to remove enemies and parts of the environment completely. Spotted a monster guarding a passage? Erase it. Found a wall standing between you and somewhere interesting? Rub out a section and stroll through.
Better still, erased objects lose their collision, so you’re physically changing the environment rather than simply making things invisible.
Then there’s your paintbrush, which lets you spend Paint creating new paths and structures. You can draw bridges across dangerous gaps, create routes through tricky areas, and even sketch allies to help during combat. It’s a brilliant excuse to experiment. Why spend ages trying to navigate an awkward platforming section when you could draw yourself a shortcut?
Of course, there’s always the possibility you’ll get a little carried away with your artistic talents and run out of Paint halfway through an important escape.
Every Page Has Its Own Problems
The comic book doesn’t follow the same layout every time you play. Each run features randomized panels of different shapes and sizes, with a mixture of battles, shops, events, minigames, and opportunities to collect valuable resources.
Some panels might offer a welcome break from the fighting, while others could introduce enemies that make you wish you’d taken a different route. You’ll also encounter Resale Panels, Wish Panels, and hidden areas that reward players willing to investigate every suspicious corner.
There are even Secret Chapters accessible through special entrances scattered throughout the world. That means it’s worth paying attention to your surroundings. A strange-looking passage might lead to a useful reward, a new challenge, or an entirely different part of the adventure.
Although if you discover a mysterious entrance surrounded by danger signs, perhaps consider whether your current collection of upgrades is ready for whatever’s waiting inside.
A Hero With Plenty of Bright Ideas
Yellow Doodle might begin his adventure with little more than his drawing tools, but there’s plenty of room to become stronger. Defeating enemies and exploring panels rewards you with resources, including Inspirations, Pencil Lead, Health Pencil Pickups, and Collectibles.
Inspirations can be spent on items, stat improvements, and new mechanics, allowing you to experiment with different builds as your adventure progresses. You could focus on improving your combat abilities, giving yourself a better chance against tougher enemies. Alternatively, you could find upgrades that complement your favorite ways of using the eraser and paintbrush.
The changing panels and available rewards mean you’ll need to adapt your approach rather than relying on exactly the same strategy every time. After all, there’s only so much a powerful build can accomplish when you’ve accidentally erased the platform you were planning to land on.
The Final Page Hasn’t Been Written
The Cartoon Adventures has a free demo available during Steam Next Fest, running October 19-26, 2026. The full game doesn’t have a confirmed release date yet.
While Yellow Doodle’s immediate concern is restoring happiness to the comic, there’s a bigger mystery surrounding how his world came to exist. As you explore, you’ll uncover clues that suggest the Duke of Gloom might not be the whole story. Which raises an interesting question. If you can erase monsters, remove walls, and draw your own way through the world, what happens when you discover who’s responsible for writing the story in the first place?