Emberline
A burning shaft with two walls and one button. Hold to wind up a jump and let go: every leap crosses to the other wall, a long wind-up climbs further than a tap, and hanging on costs you height because you slide while you wait. Land on a red stretch and the spikes have you. Higher up the shaft turns against you: pale ledges crack under your weight and drop you down a bare wall, saws swing between the walls, and columns of hot air lift you if you cross them. The fire below never stops rising — the embers you grab on the way up are the only thing that pushes it back.
How to play Emberline
⌨️ Keyboard & mouse
Hold Space (or W / ↑) to wind up, let go to jump
- Free, no sign-up
- Plays in the browser
How Emberline works
You climb a burning shaft with two walls and one button. Holding winds a jump up and letting go fires it, and every jump crosses to the opposite wall — there is no steering in the air, so the decision is made before you leave. A tap climbs a little, a full wind-up climbs about three times as far, and while you hold on you slide slowly down the wall, so waiting is never free.
The walls are built in rows, and a red stretch is spiked: land on one and the climb is over. Only one wall of any row is ever spiked, so a clear landing always exists — the skill is picking the wind-up that puts you on it. Higher up the shaft adds to that: pale ledges are cracked and hold your weight for about a second before they give way, dropping you onto a bare wall that you slide down five times faster than you slide on a ledge until you jump off it. Saws swing between the walls at a steady speed and are dodged by waiting a beat rather than jumping harder, and shimmering columns of hot air lift you while you cross them, which turns an ordinary jump into a big one.
The fire starts below you and never stops rising, and it speeds up as the climb goes on. Embers hanging in the shaft pay out and push the fire back down, which makes a slight detour for one worth taking. Height is the score, in metres, and your best is kept in this browser.
Tips for Emberline
- A full wind-up climbs about three times as far as a tap, but you slide down the wall while you hold it — wind up early, not late.
- Look at the wall you are jumping to, not the one you are on. Red stretches are spikes, and only one wall of any row is ever spiked.
- A short hop is the right answer more often than it looks: it puts you on the next clear stretch instead of past it.
- Embers push the fire back down as well as paying out, so one that is slightly out of your way is usually still worth it.
- Saws bounce between the walls at a steady speed. Wait half a beat on the wall and cross behind one rather than into it.
- A pale, cracked ledge holds for about a second once you are on it. Land on one already wound up, because there is no time to think about it.
- Shimmering columns of hot air lift you while you cross them, so a jump aimed through one climbs far higher than the same jump beside it.
