Play Ember & Tide Online
About Ember & Tide
Ember & Tide is a co-operative puzzle platformer for two players on one keyboard. Ember is made of fire: she wades through lava without a scratch and drowns instantly in water. Tide is the exact opposite. Green sludge kills them both.
Because each character is blocked by something the other can cross, neither of them can finish a level alone. One stands on a pressure plate so the other can ride a lift; one pushes a crate onto a plate so both can go up; one takes the high road while the other wades below.
Six levels, each ending with two doors. The level only completes when both characters are standing in their own door at the same time — so the person who gets there first has to wait, and usually has to come back and help.
How to play
- Get both characters into their matching door at the same time — orange for Ember, blue for Tide.
- Ember is safe in fire and dies in water. Tide is safe in water and dies in fire.
- Green sludge kills either of them, so nobody crosses it.
- Standing on a pressure plate raises the linked purple lift. A pushed crate holds a plate down on its own.
- Collect the red and blue gems for a perfect clear — they are optional, but each one only belongs to one character.
- If either character dies, the level restarts. There is no lives counter.
Controls
| W A D | Ember — jump, left, right |
| ↑ ← → | Tide — jump, left, right |
| R | Restart the level |
Tips & strategy
- Decide who is going where before either of you moves. Most deaths happen because both players walk into the same corridor.
- The crate is almost always the answer when a plate needs holding and nobody can be spared.
- A lift only stays up while its plate is held — the moment your partner steps off, you are coming down.
- Gems belonging to your partner are worth pointing out. They cannot always see their own side of the level.
- Playing solo? It works — you just have to move one character to safety before switching hands.
Ember & Tide — frequently asked questions
Can two people really play on one keyboard?
Yes, that is the intended way. Ember uses W, A and D; Tide uses the arrow keys. Neither set overlaps, so two people can sit at the same laptop.
Can I play it alone?
Yes. Move one character somewhere safe, then take over the other. It becomes a slower, more deliberate puzzle game rather than a co-op one.
Is this Fireboy and Watergirl?
No. It is an original game in the same elemental co-op platformer genre, with its own levels, characters and code. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Fireboy and Watergirl or Oslo Albet.
What happens if only one of us reaches the door?
Nothing — the door lights up and waits. Both characters have to be in their own door at the same moment for the level to complete.
Does it work on a phone?
It runs, with two sets of on-screen buttons, but it is genuinely designed for two people at one keyboard.
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