Book Review - Ultros: Design Works

February 10th 2026

Lost in Cult are beginning their 2026 Design Works releases with a look at Ultros, the ‘Gardenvania’ from developer Hadoque. The game captured attention with its bold psychedelic visuals, but hooked players with a blend of time loops, strange characters, exploration, unique resource mechanics, a cosmic soundscape, and seed planting. This makes the game perfect for a book that explores all of this and more, so it’s a good thing that Ultros: Design Works is now here!

A copy of the book has now joined the collection in the form of the limited Deluxe Edition, so I can jump in with my thoughts. I will review the book itself as I usually do, with an added section at the end for the Deluxe Edition extras.

Build Quality

The copy I have is a hardcover that comes in a slipcase at 20.5cm x 28.5cm, both of which feel strong and well-made. The paper and binding are high-quality too, also delivering an excellent print finish throughout that makes the colours really pop across its 252 pages. It’s a great job all round on this front from Lost in Cult.

The Standard Edition is a softcover, which comes in at 20cm x 28cm, and although I don’t have that to review, their previous softcovers have been very impressive. You can read more on this in my review of Outer Wilds: Design Works here.

Content

The Design Works series are hybrid books, as opposed to dedicated artbooks, but there is a huge amount of artwork included in this release alongside the development details of the game, so I was not let down as someone that wanted to see this side of the game. It strikes a very nice balance of interviews and details with the illustrations, concept art, and screenshots of the vibrant game.

Speaking on the development details first, it’s safe to say fans will enjoy the amount shared in Ultros: Design Works. Author John Rogers has done a fantastic job at not only writing the book, but getting insightful interviews with the Hadoque team as well. These are done with Art and Creative Director Niklas Åkerblad, Game Design Director Mårten Brüggemann, game designer Hugo Bille, audio designer Oscar ‘Ratvader’ Rydelius, and narrative designer Pelle Cahndlerby, each giving their perspective on working on Ultros and together painting the picture of what it took to create the game.

The book is broken down into chapters that focus on different aspects of Ultros, beginning with a history of its development, from conception and growing the team, to getting the funding and its release. From there, it focuses on the people mentioned above and their departments, offering a fascinating look into the creation of its visuals and how they were made, composing the soundscapes, developing the gameplay and mechanics, and building the lore and story of the characters and the Sarcophagus, the ship that serves as the setting. You also find out more about the past of each person interviewed too, making this an exploration of more than the game, but also the minds behind the world of seeds and the Demon.

Ultros: Design Works is rich with information and was a joy to read through as a fan of the game, leaving me wanting to jump back in all over again to reunite Ouji with Gardner, as well as seeing my plants grow. Finding out about the switch from pixel art to HD, how it started as a Roguelike, the early idea to have you bring offspring with you for your next life, Ratvader’s trip to record sounds in Peru, and much more, made this an engaging read. The game was a meeting of very creative minds that is explored wonderfully in the book.

Artwork, animation frames, and screenshots are littered throughout, with many spreads dedicated to nothing but images. Ultros stands out for being almost overwhelming in colour, something that doesn’t change with the art behind it. I love the style created by Niklas Åkerblad, one that you cannot label, because it feels simultaneously classical, retro, and modern, with biomechanical designs that have a touch of H.R. Giger to them, but also infused with psychedelic colours. It’s a fun blend that creates pieces that jump off the page, making this feel very much like an extension of the game itself.

There are also sketches and concepts shared inside too, including pages and pages of designs for the characters, environments, enemies, weapons, assets, and plants, as you can see in the previews. While not full of colour, they still maintain the distinct visual style of Ultros, showing how the visual design was developed. I love seeing artwork like this and appreciate that the team at Lost in Cult created sections of green and pink pages to focus on these early concepts and notes, parts that will no doubt be a highlight for many readers.

I enjoyed reading through Ultros: Design Works a lot and believe fellow players of the game will too. There is a huge amount I could talk about, which is what is great about the Design Works series, but that would risk this review becoming a book in itself, a testament to how much you can learn and get out of your time with this release.

Credits

Although Niklas Åkerblad is the Art Director and no doubt responsible for a lot of the art seen here, he wasn’t the only artist that work on Ultros. The book doesn’t have credits for the art unfortunately, and it’s not entirely clear that everything was created by Åkerblad.

Use of Space

Lost in Cult keep the positives going with their page design, as the layouts and use of space are very good throughout. The art gets room to breathe and, while there is a lot to read, they don’t flood spreads with a mass of text. Every spread has at least one image on it for balance, with small gaps strategically places to prevent there being an overwhelming amount of text hitting you at once. It creates a nice flow that allows the imagery and colour to keep you lost in the visuals of Ultros and it works extremely well. There are many ways this book could have presented its contents to you, but this feels very thoughtful. The sections of early artwork on coloured pages as mentioned before is also a great touch.

Value

The book was sold directly through Lost in Cult’s website for £49.99 (£129.99 for the Deluxe Edition) which does place it on the higher end if comparing it to an artbook. However, this is a well-executed hybrid book from a small publisher, so it feels like a very fair price that delivers something that feels like a passion project. I think those that bought a copy will find great value in the pricing, as the production quality and care put into this is felt from cover to cover.

Deluxe Edition

Although this is no longer available to buy as these editions are sold for a limited time period, it’s worth highlighting the quality found here for those that are interested in future Design Works books. A large number of extras were included; a CD with the soundscapes and a podcast, an A2 poster, art cards with screenshots, stickers, a booklet with poems from Pelle Cahndlerby, an Ultros Origins booklet, and a scratch art card, all gathered in a presentation box. The book itself was upgraded to a hardcover with a slipcase, which is a big selling point for many, including myself.

The quality of it all is as good as the book itself too, with the art prints being standouts for me personally, each of which I would love to get framed. If you’re a fan of the games the Design Works series are based on and don’t mind spending some extra money, these are certainly worth adding to your collection. The book makes for the perfect read after the credits roll, with this Deluxe Edition adding goodies that can give you daily reminders of your favourite title. I always appreciate good packaging as well and this came well protected, so those outside of the UK will get their order safe and sound!

Verdict

Ultros: Design Works is a superb book that gives players a look at what it took to make the ‘Gardenvania’, delivering engaging details and interviews into its history and creation, as well as spectacular artwork that you will want to revisit time and time again. The book design makes it a joy to read through and the production quality highlights Lost in Cult’s commitment to doing right by collectors of physical media. After you encountered the demon and have tended to the garden, reading this book is a great way to extend your time with Ultros.

You can find more Design Works books, as well as other products, including physical games and vinyl on Lost in Cult’s website. Be sure to keep an eye out for more announcements from their team, as they always have more book coming. Visit their website here.

You can also read my interview from last year with narrative designer Pelle Cahndlerby for more on his role on the game - Interview.

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Tags; #LostInCult #DesignWorld #Hadoque #KeplerInteractive #Ultros