Brightfall

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About the Game

Make it through the darkness - or become a part of it.

Brightfall is an open-world survival for 1 up to 4 players, set on a cursed 17th-century island erased from English maps. Build, craft, and push back the living darkness before it swallows the world.

Welcome to the Isle the Crown Pretends Doesn’t Exist

The year is 1666. The Great Plague of London has just ended… But it seems your troubles are only just beginning.

You awaken shipwrecked on Brightfall, an island so cursed that they say every plague in history began here. Fog hides it from the world, storms guard its shores… of course the Crown thinks it’s a perfect place to put its prisoners.

One of them was you.

Now you’ll have to scavenge, build, and fight to keep your light burning a little longer - because when it dies, your sanity follows. Explore abandoned Celtic ruins, upgrade your character, and craft stronger light sources to push deeper into the ever-shifting gloom.

But beware - light fades, monsters grow stronger, and even your friends can fall to madness.

Beware the Living Darkness

Branches twist. Birdsong fades. Trees grow wild and unfamiliar. You have stepped into the darkness - and it is watching you.

On Brightfall, darkness is not just the absence of light. It bends trees, warps stone, and unravels the world until nothing human remains.

But you are not powerless.

Every torch buys you a minute of sanity.

Use it wisely to carve a circle of sanity in the gloom, pushing corruption back one step at a time. The deeper you dare to go, the stronger that light must become.

Let it fade, and the island will take you back.

Hold the Light - Alone or Together

Survival on Brightfall is a shared struggle against time, dwindling supplies, and the creeping dark.
One up to four survivors can brave the island together. Scavenge and build while your friends argue about who forgot the tinder again.

Prefer to walk the path alone? The island won’t let you face it completely unaided. A flicker of ancient will - a Celtic spirit bound to the light - can guide your steps, mend your wounds, and whisper warnings when the dark closes in.

Be kind to your companions - living or spectral. You might need them to drag you out of the grave within the next hour. When one of you falls, the others can bring them back by burning a Resurrection Token - a spark of the same light that keeps the darkness at bay.

Lose them all, and the expedition ends.
The map collapses, the cycle resets, and the island changes its shape once more.

Venture into the Unknown

Beyond the fragile glow of your base lies an island that refuses to stay still.
Each failure reshapes its coasts and ruins - twisting paths, swallowing landmarks, and spitting them out somewhere new.

But not all is lost. Every corrupted biome you cleanse and every ancient beast you fell leaves behind a sanctuary, a small fortress of light that endures through the resets.
These sanctuaries let you push deeper - into deserts scorched by false suns, frozen cliffs where even shadows freeze, and finally, the Heart of Darkness itself.

The more you reclaim, the harder the island fights back.

Turn Fire and Iron Into Salvation

You start with nothing but your bare hands and a flickering torch. Hunt for scraps, stitch together rags, and raise a shack against the storm.
Then come iron tools. Then musket fire. Then sanctuaries so bright the darkness itself shrinks away.

Each expedition expands your reach: sawmills, quarries, mines, even automatons that harvest while you explore. As you gather resources and unlock blueprints, your base grows from a flickering campfire into a safe haven.

Die. Learn. Repeat.

Every expedition is only the beginning.
Brightfall remembers what you’ve earned, but never lets you rest easy.

Knowledge wrested from the dark becomes new skills, unique blueprints, and insights. With each run, you forge stronger tools, unlock fresh abilities, and carve your own path through the gloom. You can choose from distinct roles and looks, customize your path and skills, then update them independently from the World’ state.

The world reshapes after every fall - but wisdom endures.

Survive the dark, or become part of it

Your sanity fades with the light.

Stray too far into the dark, and it will begin to whisper. The longer you linger, the more it takes from you - your thoughts, your name - until nothing human remains.

Those who stray too far become Shadows, mindless hunters drawn by the warmth of their former allies.

Only your team can bring you back - if they’re fast enough.
Pull your friend toward the firelight… or run before the darkness wears their face.

RULES OF SURVIVAL

• Beware the Living Darkness - Light is your only weapon. Ignite lanterns, push back corruption, and carve circles of sanity in a world that twists with every flicker.

• Hold the Light - Alone or Together - Brave the cursed island with 1-4 players. Scavenge and build while arguing over who forgot the tinder again.

• Venture into the Unknown - Cleanse corrupted biomes, conquer ancient bosses, and anchor new sanctuaries that endure between runs.

• Die, Learn, and Rise Again - Every failure feeds your knowledge. Unlock new blueprints, roles, and skills that persist across resets, growing stronger as the island grows crueler.

• Resist or Embrace the Madness - The longer you linger in the dark, the more it calls your name. Save your friends from the abyss, or join it and hunt them instead.

Everything clear?

Jolly good! - now try not to die, lad.

Or better yet: join our Discord or the Steam discussions and tell us what you’d like to see on the island.

Brightfall is a story we want to write with you - one mad idea at a time.