The last Lantern Wardens hold a volcanic caldera through one long night. The ash tide — hooded wraiths, scuttling cinder beetles, slag brutes with molten hearts, skull-faced pyre shades — hunts whoever stands closest, so every friend who joins genuinely splits the horde. Your lantern fires by itself; your job is everything else: kiting the swarm, dodging soul-bolts and slam circles, gathering the souls your kills drop, and choosing from 22 upgrades across 11 weapons — orbiting flames, chain lightning, falling meteors, a sweeping blade of daylight, a returning glaive, a fire serpent that coils around you.
And when the tide takes someone, they're down, not dead: stand over a fallen warden and pull them back up. The night is only lost when no one is left standing. Survive the surges together until first light — solo stands are honored, but the caldera was meant to be held by a team. Friends drop into a running night mid-match and get a lantern on the spot.
How to play Ember Tide
GOAL — Survive until dawn (4:00). A full team down ends the night.
MOVE — WASD / arrows, or the stick on phones. Your lantern fires at the tide on its own; positioning is the whole game.
SOULS — Kills drop glowing embers. Walk over them to level up and pick 1 of 3 upgrades (tap a card or press 1/2/3 — the fight doesn't pause). Repeat picks stack a track higher.
THE TIDE — It hunts whoever is closest, flanks, and comes in surges — every other surge is a full ring around one warden. Beetles telegraph a crouch before lunging; brutes slam a marked circle and their touch throws you; shades lob dodgeable soul-bolts.
DOWNED — At 0 HP you fall and crawl. A teammate standing over you for 3 seconds brings you back. Alone, falling ends the night.
JOIN — Share the room link; friends jump straight into a running night. The tide grows with the team.
