Torchborn

Torchborn is about a world with only one flame left: the brazier in the middle of camp is dying, and by day you carry a torch out to find wood, oil and embers, then come back at night to guard the brazier from shadows trying to snuff it out. The torch is your life, your light, your weapon and your money, so think before you spend each bit of flame.

Day and night play differently. By day you explore a randomly generated map, and as your torch burns down its light shrinks with it; greedily carrying more slows you down. Back at camp at night, you lash shadows with the torch, land a heavy hit on the third combo strike, parry a lunging shadow to win back a little flame, or throw an ember to blast out a patch of light. When the torch dies, you die, but the story does not end.

When you die, an heir takes up the torch: three candidates, each with their own trait, inherit the brazier, the camp and the heirlooms you collected along the way, and the family tree is your save file. A short run of 4 nights takes about 15 minutes; clearing it unlocks a 7-night long run of about 35 minutes. There are ten heirlooms, three still to unlock, and enemies like the Snuffers that drink your flame and can only be fought with embers.

One warning: this is an entry to AI Browser Game Jam 5 (theme: Torch), and its art, sound and music are all procedurally generated, with no image assets. Progress lives in the browser, so switching devices loses it. It has a calm mode, a no-flashing option and five languages, and works on phone, keyboard and controller, but the author recommends playing on a computer, with sound on and lights off.