The things to know before your first game, the game modes, and every faction. Each player holds one lane, and the last lane standing wins.
You get your own lane, a stock of lives (20 unless the host picks another number) and a purse of gold. Every player faces the same waves at the same time, and you can only build in your own lane.
Enemies walk from the gate at the top to the exit at the bottom, always by the shortest open route, and on the way every one of them must step on the glowing waypoint in the middle of the lane. Your towers are the walls. Build lines of towers so the route zigzags back and forth: the longer the walk, the longer your towers have to shoot.
You can't seal the route completely. Towers snap to half tiles, and a half-tile gap between two towers is still wide enough for enemies to slip through.
Every faction has the same ladder. A tier-1 tower upgrades to tier 2, then you pick one of three tier-3 branches (Q, W or E). Each branch goes on to a tier-4 tower, a tier-5 hero, and finally a tier-6 ascended hero. Range grows with every tier. Every faction and its towers are listed below and in the Library.
An enemy that reaches your exit costs you a life (a boss costs 3). It then walks into the next player's lane, worth half its gold. Whoever sits at the end of the chain faces every leak from upstream.
Every 7th wave is birds. They fly straight from the gate to the exit and ignore your maze, so keep some towers near the middle. Every tower splashes birds it hits. Every 10th wave brings a boss. From wave 31 enemies glow with fire: they're empowered and much tougher.
Click Send now to call the next wave early. You get bonus gold for the time you skip.
A player at zero lives is out. The last lane standing wins, or whoever is still alive after wave 100.
Versus: every player for themselves, and leaks spill into the next lane. Beat the Nightmare on wave 100 and you go on into endless mode. Co-op: up to eight players defend together; every lane drains into one shared ground and the team shares 100 lives. When the shared ground kills an enemy you let through, you still get half its gold. Head-to-head: two teams (1 v 1 to 3 v 3) with no waves at all. You buy enemies and send them at every lane of the other team, and each send raises your income for good by a fifth of what it cost. First team out of lives loses. Sandbox: one lane, unlimited gold, and waves only when you send them, for practising mazes.
Click a faction to see its whole tower tree, with every tower's numbers.
Enemies always take the shortest open route from the gate at the top to the exit at the bottom, touching the waypoint in the middle on the way. Every extra tile they walk is more time under fire. These are real lanes with real towers, and the boar shows the route it would take.
Checking your free trial…
Play the full game free for 90 minutes. Sign in or create a free account to start: your progress is kept in your account, and it carries over when you buy.
Have a code? Sign in first, then enter it.
One quick check, then your 90 minutes start.
The free trials for your network are used up for now: each network can start 3 every 30 days. Buy the game to play, or sign in with an account that has trial time left.
Thanks for playing! Your progress is saved in your account, and it'll be waiting for you in the full game.
Can't reach the game's server. The free trial needs a connection to keep counting, so the game waits until it's back.
Checking your copy of the game…
Sign in to play. Your copy of Hellbright belongs to your account: sign in with that account, or create one and enter a code.
This account doesn't own the game yet. Buy it, or enter a code you were given below.
Can't reach the game's server to check your copy. Connect to the internet once; after that the game plays offline for good.
A code unlocks the game on this account, here and in the Windows app. Bought it on itch.io before it moved to hellbright.com? Write to support@hellbright.com for a code.
Use the recovery code you got when you made the account (or the last time you used one) to set a new password.
Here is your recovery code. Write it down or save it somewhere safe: it's the only way back in if you forget your password, and it won't be shown again.
This device has progress from playing as a guest, and your account has its own. Which should your account keep? The other is replaced.
Settings and setups come from the account either way.
Signed in as
Your account keeps your Survivors and Verdant vs The Crypt progress, your settings and game setups, your online name and your Map Forge map. Graphics and touch settings stay with each device. Signing out takes your progress off this device; it stays in your account.
Pick a champion, kill enemies to level up, and most importantly SURVIVE FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!
Survivors progress was reset. Your settings and the other modes were kept.
The run is paused while this is open.
The undead are coming for the grove. Plant Verdant towers with sap and hold every row: the first zombie through a row sets off its root snare, and the next one wins.
You own more cards than the tray holds. Choose the ones to bring:
Root snares still standing at a win pay 50 coins each. What you buy here is yours for good.
Every hero holds a lane of their own against endless waves, one every 35 seconds (45 after 25 minutes), with a boss every 5th. A creep that reaches your gate costs a life (a boss 3) and walks on into the next hero's lane, worth half its gold, so the last lane in the row faces everyone's leaks. A gate at 0 lives is out. Wave 100 brings Varkhul, Lord of Hell: beat him, or be the last hero standing, to win, then keep going for a record if you like. Buy items, gear and tomes at your base as in Hero Arena. Every lane is the Hell arena.
Heaven against Hell on one great map (200 × 150). Each side has a base with three shops that only its own heroes can enter, by walking into one of its three portals; inside, health and mana come back fast. The creep camps between the bases fill up and wait for whoever comes to fight them.
A hero mode (prototype). Two teams guard their gates against the other side's waves, one every 35 seconds (every 45 from 25 minutes on). A creep that reaches your gate costs a life, a boss five; the first gate to fall loses. After every 8th wave one hero from each side duels in the arena. The first side to win 10 duels also wins; after 35 minutes each duel lowers that target by one. Pick any hero, for either side. Computer heroes fill both teams, and a friend can join you with a game code.
Game code
The game keeps running while you play with a friend.
Settings are saved in this browser, and in your account when you're signed in.