Torchbearer

TORCHBEARER

The Hearth of Emberfall has gone cold. Old Wick saved one coal and lit you a torch from it.

Carry it down through seven depths to the Deep Hearth, and light every brazier on the way so the village can follow your lights.

YOUR TORCH IS EVERYTHING

- Your life: the flame burns down as you walk. If it goes out, you have ten seconds of ember to touch a fire before the dark takes you.

- Your light: the brighter it burns, the further you see. Cup it to protect it and it dims.

- Your weapon: swing it to burn webs, swat the moths that eat flame, and drive back the dead, who wake only in the dark and cower, then burn, in strong light.

- Your key: fire runs along old webs and timber like a fuse. Throw the torch at out-of-reach braziers to open the way, then call it back to your hand.

- Your mark: every brazier and sconce you light stays lit. They are your checkpoints, and at the end the mountain shows every light you left burning.

SEVEN DEPTHS (about 10-15 minutes)

The Mouth · Drip Hollow (drips and waterfalls) · The Web Galleries (chain fires, your first throw) · The Bonepit (the dead fear the light) · Windward Shaft (gusts) · The Forge Below (lava you can borrow fire from) · The Deep Hearth (the Hollow King, who snuffs every flame: light all four braziers at once to burn him)

CONTROLS

Move: Arrows / A D · Jump: Space / W / Up (hold for higher)

Swing: J or Z · Throw / call back: K or X

Shield the flame: hold S / Down · Drop through planks: Down + Jump

Pause: Esc or P · Mute: M

Made for the AI Browser Game Jam 5 (theme: TORCH). #AIGameJam

CREDITS

Made by Clovrr Studios, with Claude (Anthropic)

Art: isles_ [8x8] by analogstudios, CC0 (https://analogstudios.itch.io/isles)

Fonts: Silkscreen (Jason Kottke) and VT323 (Peter Hull), Google Fonts, OFL

Music and sound: synthesized live in the browser