Ember & Tide

About Ember & Tide

Ember & Tide is a co-op puzzle platformer you play in your browser, made for two people sharing one keyboard. Ember is a little flame and Tide is a drop of water. They set out together through an old temple, and each level is a single screen with two doors at the end: an orange one for Ember and a blue one for Tide. The level is finished when both heroes are standing in their own doors at the same time. Getting there almost always takes both of you.

The two heroes run and jump the same way, but the world treats them differently. Ember can walk straight through lava pools, and Tide can wade through water, but each one is lost the moment they touch the other's element. Green goo is deadly to both. That one rule shapes every puzzle. A path that is safe for one hero is a trap for the other, so you are always splitting up, taking different routes and helping each other across.

Each hero also has a power of their own. Ember's heat melts ice and burns away thorny brambles, which opens walls and clears paths. Ice placed over water is a trap for Ember, though, because the floor melts underfoot. Tide can wake seeds, which grow a bridge of leaves across a gap. The leaves hold Tide up but catch fire under Ember, so a bridge made for one hero is useless for the other. Many levels are about working out who should go first and who needs to clear the way.

Around those powers are the machines of the temple. Pressure buttons hold gates open only while someone, or something, stands on them, so one hero often waits while the other goes through. Levers stay where you push them, which lets the hero on the far side keep a door open for the one left behind. Lifts carry you up to high ledges, crates can be pushed onto buttons or into a pool as a dry stepping stone, and in the last world tall fans blow a column of wind that carries you up and lets you float at the top.

There are 24 hand-built levels across three worlds. The Forest Temple teaches the basics with pools, buttons, gates, lifts, brambles and seeds. The Crystal Caves add ice, levers and heavy crates, and the puzzles start asking for real teamwork. The Sky Ruins are high above the clouds, where fans and wind columns join everything you have learned, ending with the Sky Temple. Every level has been checked by playing it through from start to finish, so each one can be solved with every gem collected.

The puzzles are about order and timing more than quick reflexes. A typical level might ask Tide to hold a button while Ember slips through a gate, then have Ember push a lever on the far side so the gate stays open for Tide. Another might need Ember to melt a wall of ice so Tide can reach a crate, then push that crate into the middle of a pool so Ember can use it as a stepping stone. Talking it through is half the fun when you play with a friend, a partner or a child next to you, and the early levels are gentle enough for younger players while the later ones take real planning.

Every level awards up to three stars. You get one for bringing both heroes home, one for collecting every gem (red gems are for Ember and blue gems are for Tide) and one for finishing under the par time. Par times are set from a fast, clean run, so three stars means knowing the solution and playing it smoothly together. If you get stuck there is a hint in the pause menu, and after a couple of tries you can choose to skip a level.

Ember & Tide is best with two players on one keyboard. One person uses the arrow keys for Ember and the other uses W, A and D for Tide. You can also play alone: switch on one-player mode and swap between the heroes with Tab, Shift or S. On phones and tablets the game shows on-screen buttons, with a swap button to change hero. It starts in seconds, needs no download or account, and saves your unlocked levels, stars and best times in your browser. It is free to play, with an occasional short ad between levels on our own site.

Genre

Puzzle platformer

Released

October 23, 2026

Platform

Web browser (phone, tablet, desktop)

Price

Free

Developer

FDZ Labs Inc.

Features

• Co-op for two players on one keyboard, or solo by swapping between the heroes
• Two heroes with different powers: Ember melts ice and burns brambles, Tide grows leaf bridges
• 24 hand-built levels across the Forest Temple, Crystal Caves and Sky Ruins
• Buttons, gates, levers, lifts, pushable crates and fans that blow you upwards
• Three stars per level for finishing, collecting every gem and beating the par time
• Touch controls on phones and tablets; progress saves automatically

How to play

1. Ember moves with the arrow keys (← → to run, ↑ to jump). Tide moves with A and D and jumps with W.
2. Ember is safe in lava and Tide is safe in water. Touching the other one's pool, or green goo, ends the attempt.
3. Ember melts ice and burns brambles by touching them. Tide makes a seed grow a leaf bridge by touching it.
4. Stand on buttons to open gates, push levers to switch them, and walk into crates to push them.
5. Step onto a fan to ride its wind up. You float at the top and can walk or jump off.
6. Get both heroes into their own doors at the same time to finish the level. Collect gems and finish fast for three stars.

Controls

Tips and strategy

• Before you move, look at the whole level and decide who needs to go first.
• A button only works while something stands on it. A crate can hold it down so both of you can leave.
• Levers stay put. The hero who gets through first can often push a lever to open the way for the other.
• Keep Ember off leaf bridges and ice over water: both disappear under a flame.
• Ember only melts what Ember touches, so walk all the way into an ice wall and wait a moment.
• Stuck? Open the pause menu for a hint about the order to do things in.