Virtual D-Pads suck

I've always loved tight platformers like Kaizo Mario or Celeste. In fact, Celeste is the only game I've ever gotten all achievements in on Steam.

And the D-Pad is vital to the genre. That's why the SNES controller from 1992 remains a favorite among the best players. That's also why platformers rarely work on mobile:

Virtual D-Pads suck.

A touchscreen doesn't provide tactile feedback, which means you can't feel what you're pressing or where your thumb is. This makes precise control difficult, and not in a fun way.

That is the core problem that this game aims to solve.

Gameplay

Ember Ruin is a precise platformer built from scratch for touch controls. There's no walking. You instead swipe to dash in four directions, and tap once to wall jump.

The movement system was designed from the ground up around the lack of a D-Pad.

You have a limited amount of dashes which requires you to think about when and where to use them. Each dash moves you a discrete distance, which you can cancel or redirect with good enough timing.

Runs consist of hand crafted rooms in a procedurally generated order, and it gets harder and harder as you progress.

Master the movement, climb ever higher, and fight for your spot on the leaderboards!

Story

Throughout the caves, as you explore, you may stumble upon mysterious ghosts.

What are they saying?

Is it even supposed to make sense?

Or are you simply forgetting something important?

Development

Ember Ruin began development during IT class in high school.

However, it was never meant to stay a school project.

I am the main developer, responsible for the game design and programming. The visuals and music are the amazing work of my good friends Mahmud (Mr.MES) and Emre (ect).

And we hope you enjoy playing it as much as we are enjoying making it.

Estimated release date is somewhere in late 2026 for Android.

Join the journey

Want to playtest Ember Ruin?

A pre-release version is available now on Google Play. Any and all feedback is very much appreciated! You can submit it through the in-game form.