Puzzle · Co-op

Ember & Tide

Two elemental friends, one volcanic cavern. Ember the molten golem wades through lava but fizzles in water. Tide the ice sprite glides through water but melts in lava. Toxic goo stops you both. Hold plates, flip levers, ride lifts and float on vents to get both of you to your own doors in 15 hand-built caverns.

ModeRanked run from level 1

Touch controlsSolo mode

DifficultyGoo on side paths · par times

WASDEmber←↑→TideMove both heroes at once · Space jumps the highlighted hero, Tab, Shift or Q changes it · R retry cavern · P pause

About Ember & Tide

Ember & Tide is a co-op puzzle platformer. Ember, a molten rock golem, is safe in lava but fizzles in water. Tide, an ice-water sprite, is safe in water but melts in lava. Both must reach their own doors.

How to play

Each hero collects gems of their own colour, and toxic green goo stops both. Get both heroes to their own doors to clear the cavern.
Plates and levers open gates and move lifts and vents of the same colour. Push crates onto plates or into pools as stepping stones.
Ember melts ice with a touch, and when Tide lands in water nearby lava crusts over for 3 seconds. Swap pads trade elements between the heroes.

Controls

Solo: WASD moves Ember and the arrow keys move Tide, both at the same time; Space jumps the highlighted hero and Tab, Shift or Q changes which one. On a phone use one set of buttons with Switch, or choose Two-thumb controls. 2 Players: Ember uses WASD and Tide the arrow keys; on a phone each player gets their own buttons.

Good to know

Free to play, no account needed. Plays in any modern browser on phone, tablet or computer. Sign in to put your scores on the Ember & Tide leaderboard.

More about Ember & Tide

Ember & Tide is built around one question: who has to be where, and when? Every cavern is a small puzzle about timing and order. One hero holds a plate while the other crosses, a crate gets pushed into a pool to make a step, or a lever is pulled so a lift can carry the partner up. The skill it trains is planning two bodies at once, whether you split the work with a friend or switch between both heroes yourself.

There are 15 caverns, from First Sparks to Heart of the Mountain. Early ones teach one idea at a time: gems, goo, plates, levers, crates. Later ones combine them with wind vents, ice caps, swap pads that flip your element, inverted gates and ferries on their own rhythm.

Scoring and progress

A scored run starts at the first cavern and gives you three lives shared across the whole run. Each cleared cavern is worth 500 points, plus 50 per gem and up to 300 for speed, with the full speed bonus at or under the cavern's par time. Easy multiplies points by 0.8 and Hard by 1.25. The run grade (D up to S) depends on how many caverns you cleared, and S means all 15. Practice and 2 Players are unranked.

Common questions

Can I play Ember & Tide alone?
Yes. In solo mode you control both heroes, switching between them or moving both at once with WASD and the arrow keys. 2 Players mode gives each person one hero.

What happens when I lose all three lives?
The run ends and you get a grade based on how many caverns you cleared. Your score and gems are saved as the result of that run.

Do the Easy, Medium and Hard settings change the puzzles?
They change the par times, how much goo appears on side paths and the points multiplier. Hard also makes gems fade after par time, so it rewards fast, clean play.

Tips and strategy

Read the hint on the intro card for each cavern. It names the new mechanic, such as plates that only hold a gate open while someone stands on them.
Watch the par timer in the HUD. It turns to a warning color once you pass par, and the speed bonus shrinks the longer you take, so plan the route before you move.
Do not rush gems at the cost of a life. Each gem is only 50 points, while losing a life brings you closer to the end of the whole run.
On Hard, gems fade once the par time passes. Grab the ones near your route first and leave the detours for last.
Use crates as tools. A crate on a plate keeps a gate open on its own, which frees both heroes to move, and a crate dropped in a pool becomes a stepping stone.
Remember the three-second crust. When Tide lands in water, nearby lava hardens briefly, so Ember can cross right after a Tide splash.

More advice in the Streaky guides.

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