Glyphborn

GLYPHBORN is a short, fast boss rush where everything (the knight, the bosses, the arena, the UI) is drawn in animated glyphs.

You are a knight made of letters, and four bosses stand in your way:

• HALCYON, the Palimpsest Saint
• VESPER, the Hollow Duelist
• GUTENMAW, the Typesetter
• UNDERTOW, the Tidewyrm

Every attack can be parried or dashed through. Between fights, rest at the rest stop: take an upgrade card, spend shards, and shape a build. Beat all four to complete a run, then keep going in Endless mode.

Controls

Keyboard first, auto-aim

• WASD / arrows: move
• J: attack (auto-aims)
• L or Shift: parry (time it as the hit lands)
• Space: dash (invulnerable)
• K: strikethrough special (needs ink)
• F: drink a potion
• Esc: pause

All keys can be rebound in Settings. The first time you press PLAY, a short tutorial teaches every move; press Esc twice to skip it.

Features

• 4 two-phase bosses, plus a tutorial boss
• 4 weapons that play differently: Quill Blade, Twin Quills, The Brush, the Typewriter
• 28+ upgrade cards, including build-changing ones
• The Hub: XP, unlocks, feats, capes and optional "hexes" for harder runs
• Graded fights (S to D) and an endless mode

Playtest build v0.9. Best in Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a desktop or laptop. Headphones recommended. Progress is saved in your browser.

Feedback is hugely appreciated. Leave a comment below: what felt great, what felt unfair, where you got stuck, and which weapon you liked best.