BETA

THE TIDE ALWAYS RETURNS. SO DOES THE BLADE.

An isometric pixel-art roguelike. One ninja, one glowing blade and endless waves of yokai across six phases of Japanese folklore.

DOWNLOAD THE BETA

Free beta · Windows, Linux and macOS

BETA
A spin slash clears a ring of yokai in Maple Gorge
One blade. Endless waves.
A horde of bandits and slimes on the shrine steps
Ten kills in one second
The Oni Lord falls at the Shrine Above the Clouds
Bosses guard every phase

What you do

Cut through the tide

Combos, heavy strikes, rolls and a spin that clears the screen. Waves grow until the arena is full of yokai, and the blade has to keep up.

Six phases, six bosses

Climb from the Shrine Above the Clouds to the Whirlpool Strait. Each phase has its own ground, props, yokai and a boss waiting at the end.

Build a different ninja

Pick talents as you level up, spend souls at the Soul Shrine, and dress for the run in the Armory with sets, weapons and auras.

Die, return, go further

Every run banks souls and feats. The Lore scroll tells the story of the Tide Blade, and beating the last boss unlocks the ending.

Six phases

  1. 雲上神社1 · Shrine Above the Clouds
  2. 狐火竹林2 · Foxfire Bamboo
  3. 紅葉渓谷3 · Maple Gorge
  4. 白峠4 · White Pass
  5. 黄泉比良坂5 · Yomi Gate
  6. 渦潮海峡6 · Whirlpool Strait

Download the beta

Blade Surge is free while it's in development. Every build adds something.

Windows

Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit

Coming soon

Unzip, then run BladeSurge.exe. If SmartScreen warns you, click More info › Run anyway. The game isn't code-signed yet.

Linux

x86_64

Coming soon

Unzip, then run ./BladeSurge.x86_64. If it won't start, run chmod +x BladeSurge.x86_64 first.

macOS

macOS 11 or later on Apple silicon, 10.13 or later on Intel

Coming soon

The app isn't notarized yet. The first time, right-click › Open, or run xattr -cr "Blade Surge.app" in Terminal.

You need a graphics card with Vulkan, Direct3D 12 or Metal support. Keyboard and mouse or a gamepad both work. Check a download with the SHA-256 shown under its button.

Changelog

The changes in each build show here once the first build is published.

FAQ

Is it free?

Yes. The beta is free to download and play. Your feedback shapes what comes next.

Is it safe to run? My computer warned me.

The builds aren't code-signed or notarized yet, so Windows and macOS warn about any unsigned app. Every download lists its SHA-256 checksum so you can confirm the file is the one we published. The steps under each download button get you past the warning.

Will my progress carry over to new builds?

Your save lives on your computer, and new builds read it. During the beta a big change might still reset something, and the changelog will say so when it does.

Which build am I playing?

The build number is in the bottom-right corner of the title screen and the pause menu. Please include it when you report a bug.

Is it coming to Steam?

Not yet. For now this page is the place to get it.