Lantern Horde A free horde survival game in a haunted marsh
Walk a lantern-keeper through a haunted marsh. Your glow is your reach and your health: survive the horde until dawn.
About Lantern Horde
Lantern Horde is a one-thumb survival roguelite set in a haunted marsh at night. You guide a small hooded lantern-keeper through the reeds while the lantern fights on its own: every weapon fires automatically at the nearest shade inside the circle of light. Your only job is to walk, choose your upgrades and stay alive until the sun comes up ten minutes later.
The twist is the light itself. The glow of the lantern is both your reach and your health. Every time a shade touches the keeper, the lantern dims and the circle of light shrinks, so your weapons reach less far and the horde creeps closer. Oil flasks dropped by elite shades refill it, and a flask appears nearby if none has dropped for a while. Do you dash to the dark edge of the circle for that flask, or stay safe near the middle and pick up embers?
Shades burst into embers when they fall. Collect embers to level up, and every level pauses the night on three upgrade cards. There are six weapons: the seeking Flicker Bolt, a Cinder Orbit that circles you, homing Wisp Seekers, the ring pulse of the Bell Toll, a cone of Glass Shards and a drifting Firefly Swarm. Six passives add light radius, max light, speed, pickup range, faster cooldowns or armour. Take a weapon to rank five with its matching passive and it evolves into a stronger form when you open the next boss chest.
Bosses arrive at three, six and nine minutes: a moth queen, a weeping willow and a sunken bell. Each one drops a chest and is followed by a short lull to catch your breath. Kill shades in quick succession to build a streak that multiplies your points.
Every run earns moon coins. Spend them on lantern upgrades between nights, open Hollow Wood and Sunken Bell by reaching dawn, and come back each day for the Daily night, a seeded run that is the same for every player. Runs save automatically when you pause or switch tabs, so a phone call never costs you a night.
How to play
Walk: press anywhere on the screen and drag; a thumb stick appears under your finger. With a mouse, hold the button and drag. On a keyboard, use WASD or the arrow keys.
Fight: your weapons fire by themselves at shades inside the circle of light. A hit from a shade dims the lantern and shrinks the circle; oil flasks refill it.
Level up: walk over embers. When the cards appear, tap one, or press 1, 2 or 3 (Left/Right and Enter work too). R rerolls when you have rerolls.
Win: survive until dawn at 10:00. Pause with the button, P or Esc; mute with the button or M.
Controls and devices
- Controls: Touch, Mouse, Keyboard
- Works on: phones, tablets and computers
- Screen: portrait orientation
- Price: free, no download or sign-up
FAQ
- What happens when my light runs out?
- The night ends, unless you choose Second Wind: watch an optional ad to relight the lantern with half its light and push the horde back. You can do this once per night.
- Does my progress save?
- Yes. Moon coins, upgrades, best scores and unlocked maps are saved on this device, and to your account when you are signed in. A night in progress is saved when you pause or leave the tab, so you can continue it later.
- How do I open the other maps?
- Reach dawn on Reedmarsh to open Hollow Wood, and reach dawn on Hollow Wood to open Sunken Bell. Later maps have tougher shades and their own elite.
- How do weapons evolve?
- Get a weapon to rank 5 and own its partner passive: Flicker Bolt with Flint, Cinder Orbit with Deep Flask, or Bell Toll with Long Wick. The next boss chest you open evolves it.
- What is the Daily night?
- One seeded night per day on a rotating map. Every player gets the same spawns and card offers, and your best score for the day is kept.
Credits
- Game design, code and sound: Playora Games
- Generated art (prompts in art/assets.yaml): Codex CLI image tool (OpenAI)
- Game engine: Phaser (MIT)