About Sword Maze
A different maze every run, with a fixed layout of goals
The corridors are carved by a recursive backtracker, which guarantees the maze is fully connected - every sigil is always genuinely reachable, and there are no isolated pockets.
The three sigils are always placed in the three far corners, and the gate is always in the middle. That fixed arrangement is what makes the game solvable rather than merely random: the maze changes, but the shape of the journey does not.
The practical consequence is that the last leg is always a return through ground you have already mapped, which is the most satisfying part of any run.
The minimap remembers what the torch showed
Everything within about 190 pixels is lit, and everything you have ever lit stays drawn on the minimap in the corner. Corridors you have walked are permanently known; corridors you have not are blank.
That turns the run into a deliberate mapping exercise. Following one wall consistently is far more effective than wandering, because it produces a connected map rather than a scattering of lit fragments.
The torch is the clock, and fighting refills it
You have 150 seconds. Every enemy cut down adds four; every hit taken costs eight. That is a twelve-second swing on a single encounter, and it makes the fights a time budget rather than a side activity.
The consequence is that fighting well is genuinely worth doing - a run that kills six enemies cleanly has 24 more seconds than one that avoided them, and 24 seconds is most of a corridor. A run that takes six hits has 48 fewer, which is usually the difference between finishing and not.
How to play
- Press Start. WASD or the arrow keys move.
- You can only see as far as your torch. The minimap in the corner remembers everywhere you have been.
- Find three sigils. They are always in the three far corners of the maze.
- Then reach the gate, which is always in the middle. It opens once you have all three.
- Cutting an enemy adds four seconds to the torch. Taking a hit costs eight.
- The run ends when the torch does, or when your four hearts do.
Controls
| Where | What to do |
|---|---|
| Move | WASD or arrow keys |
| Cut | Space, J, K, or click |
| Dodge | Shift or Z |
| Touch | Dodge and Attack buttons; drag to move |
| Pause | Escape or P |
Scoring
These are the point values this game awards, before the combo multiplier is applied where it uses one. Hit quality changes the figure: a strike at the centre of the correct moment is worth substantially more than one at the edge of it.
Tips
- Pick a wall and follow it. A connected map beats a scattering of lit fragments.
- The sigils are always in the far corners and the gate is always in the middle.
- Each kill is worth four seconds; each hit costs eight. Fighting well genuinely pays.
- The minimap keeps everything the torch ever showed. Check it at junctions.
- Enemies only chase within about 150 pixels. Outside that, corridors are safe to think in.
- Remaining torch time is worth 40 points a second on escape, so speed does score.
Common mistakes
- Wandering rather than wall-following, which lights a lot of maze without mapping any of it.
- Fighting every enemy you see. Only the ones on your route are worth the risk.
- Heading for the gate before all three sigils are found - it will not open.
- Ignoring the minimap, which is the only thing that makes the return leg fast.
Features
- A fully connected maze carved fresh each run, so every sigil is always reachable
- Torch-limited vision with a persistent minimap of everywhere you have lit
- Sigils and gate in fixed positions, so the journey has a knowable shape
- A torch clock that fights refill and hits drain
- Enemies that only pursue within a short radius
- Remaining time converted to score on escape
