Lone Lantern — Hold the Light

Two Ways to Play

Choose your flame

Classic

Light the Wick

One life. One run. No mercy.

The pure experience. One flame, endless dark, and no second chances. Hold as long as you can. Die and it’s over — clean, ruthless, honest.

Single life — no revivals
Uncluttered survival run
Seeking Light ability exclusive to this mode
High score tracked by survival time

Everflame

Fan the Flames

Build deeper. Burn brighter.

A richer, build-focused mode. Earn Wick lives, save progress at Beacon checkpoints, and forge powerful Evolutions by fusing two maxed-out upgrades into something greater.

Wick system — earned lives on fatal blows
Beacon checkpoints after every boss kill
Evolution system — forge 4 unique power fusions
Greater depth, greater reward

The Upgrade System

Build your light

Every level-up offers three cards to choose from. Each category grows you in a different way.

Ability

✦

Abilities

New active powers for your flame — extra projectiles, orbiting cinders, bursts of fire. Each one you take can be leveled up again on future draws to grow stronger.

Passive

△

Passives

Stat upgrades that sharpen what you already have — damage, speed, health, crit. Quiet improvements that stack and compound over a run.

Evolution

✦

Evolutions

Fuse two maxed-out upgrades into one powerful new form. Once both halves are ready, the evolution card appears as your next pick.

Everflame only: evolution cards appear once two matching upgrades are maxed

Field Guide

The dark sends everything

Mote

Tiny. Fast. Fragile. Lethal in swarms.

Wisp

Common drifter. Learns to shoot at higher waves.

Hulk

Slow armored wall. Shields everything behind it.

Splitter

Erupts into fast Motes when slain.

Charger

Winds up. Dashes violently. Don’t stand still.

Watcher

Fires homing lines of sight across the arena.

In-game Reference

Lantern Codex

Embers & Light

◆

Embers

Crystallized light left by slain foes. Gather them to fill your meter and grow brighter — every fill is a level and a new upgrade.

✚

Light Orbs

Warm orbs that mend a chunk of your flame. Snatch them before they fade into the dark.

🕯

Wicks Everflame

Gather enough light to forge a wick. The blow that would kill you spends it instead — you flare back to half light and scatter the dark around you.

⚑

Beacons Everflame

Every boss you fell lights a beacon checkpoint. Fall with no wick left and you rekindle at your last beacon rather than dying.

The Dark · Bestiary

▪

Mote

Tiny, fast and fragile. Harmless alone, but the dark sends them in swarms.

◆

Wisp

The common husk. Drifts straight at your light; later wisps learn to spit shots from behind cover.

⬡

Hulk

A slow wall of dark. Your flames cannot pass through it, so it shields the swarm behind — and it bites up close.

●

Splitter

A bloated pod. A single hit pops it into a spray of fast motes.

▶

Charger

Stalks closer, winds up, then dashes to skewer you — and speeds up with each lunge. Sidestep the dash.

◬

Watcher

Hangs at range and fires along a telegraphed line, then flees. Dodge the line and hunt it down.

⬢

Boss

A titan that arrives on a timer. Its body and its barrages both hurt — never stop moving. Each one falls only to learn a new trick. In Everflame, killing a boss lights a Beacon checkpoint.

Elite Traits

⚡

Swift

Cyan-tinted foes move much faster — you can no longer simply outrun the horde.

◈

Armored

Steel-tinted foes carry heavy plate and shrug off damage. Focus them down.

✸

Volatile

Orange-tinted foes detonate on death — do not be standing on them when they fall.

Abilities

✶

Split Flame

+1 flame per volley

➶

Piercing Light

Flames pass through +1 foe

➳

Seeking Light Classic

Flames curve toward foes

☄

Heavy Embers

Bigger flames + strong knockback

🔥

Ember Burn

Flames set foes alight (DoT)

☀

Orbiting Cinders

+1 cinder circle that guards you

✺

Blast Kindling Classic

Slain foes erupt in fire

❄

Smothering Light

Foes in your light move slower

♥

Vampiric Flame

Recover a little light on each kill

✹

Radiant Burst Classic

Release a ring of flame, ever faster

✤

Thorned Halo

Foes that strike you are burned back

✨

Second Wind Classic

Survive one fatal blow at half light

Passives

🔥

Brighter Flame

Higher strike damage

⚡

Quick Spark

Faster strike speed

👣

Swift Step

Quicker movement

◎

Wider Glow

Wider light & gather range

🛡

Tempered Glass

More max light, fully restored

✚

Mending Wick

Light auto-recovers each second

✸

Searing Crit

Chance to scorch foes (crit)

✦

Cruel Spark

Bigger scorch damage

◈

Lantern Bulwark

Less damage taken per hit

❖

Greedy Glow

More ember value

Evolutions Everflame Only

✸

Wildfire

Blast Kindling + Searing Crit — chain fire that leaps between enemies.

◉

Cinder Storm

Orbiting Cinders + Heavy Embers — devastating orbital projectiles.

✦

Starfall

Split Flame + Piercing Light — a wide sweeping volley.

⬡

Aegis

Tempered Glass + Lantern Bulwark — a near-invulnerable shield.

LONE
LANTERN

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One flame. Endless dark.

Choose your flame

Build your light

The dark sends everything

Your flame is waiting.

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Lantern Codex