Aetherfall

Aetherfall is a dark-fantasy survivors-like where you control every attack. There are no auto-weapons: you move with the mouse, aim each strike and time every skill, like in an action RPG.

A run starts weak, with only your basic attack. Each level unlocks one more skill, until you command a full bar of eight class skills, two utility skills, a hyper skill and an ultimate. Hold out for ten minutes while the horde grows, then face the battlefield's final boss.

Eight heroes, two archetypes

Aetherborn: hooded heroes forged by the Aetherfall itself.

• Reaper: a void scythe duelist of crescent blades and void threads.
• Arcanist: a ranged caster who commands frost, fire and lightning from afar.
• Berserker: a great-axe bruiser who hits hardest up close and ends fights with Titan's Fall.
• Ranger: an agile archer with traps, companions and a Ricochet Arrow that bounces through the pack.

Blackstar Protocol: operatives sealed in black power suits.

• Gravemarch: a heavy-weapons hunter. Every hit builds Pressure, and every four pips power a Breach skill.
• Cataclyst: an impact brawler. Every blow loads Impact, and a full meter turns the next skill into a Cataclysm.
• Vesperbrand: a blade duelist. Sword hits Seam enemies, and lock-on charges finish them.
• Voidtithe: a gravity controller. Hold the attack to charge a Gravemark, then pull, lift and crush the horde.

Every hero has 14 skills with detailed tooltips, and every one of them is animated.

Features

• Survivors mode on four battlefields: Verdant Meadow, Frostveil Tundra, Eclipse Citadel and Ashen Wastes, each with its own monsters, music and final boss.
• Boss Rush: the Bramble Queen, Glacius, the Eclipsed Warden and Ignaroth, back to back.
• Bosses with three phases and telegraphed attacks: circles, rings, beams and safe-spot puzzles.
• Skills with real weight: two-step casting with range indicators, channelled casts, heavy impacts and screen-filling ultimates.
• Treasure chests with a slot machine that rolls three upgrades at once.
• Battle items (Health Potion, Frost Bomb, Berserker Tonic, Elixir of Life), an inventory and quick slots.
• The Sanctum of the Eclipse: a walkable hub between runs with the Hall of Heroes, the Archivist's upgrades, the Aether Gate, the Pet Master and a training room with a dummy.
• Permanent progress: Aether Shards for account, archetype and class upgrades, plus class mastery for each hero.
• Pets that follow you, collect gold and grow stronger: Aether Wisp, Spirit Fox, Star Owl, Ember Drake and Crystal Tortoise.
• Options menu with rebindable keys, a DPS meter, a minimap and mouse wheel zoom.

Controls

• Right mouse: move (hold to follow the cursor)
• Left mouse: basic attack toward the cursor
• Space: dodge
• Q W E R / A S D F: class skills
• Y / X: utility skills (Z also works for Y)
• T: hyper skill   V: ultimate
• G: interact   1-4: battle items   I or Tab: inventory
• Mouse wheel: zoom   Middle click: reset zoom
• M: DPS meter   O: options   Esc or P: pause

Skills cast in two steps by default: press once to see the range, then press again or left-click to cast. You can switch to instant casting in Options, and every key can be rebound there.

Best played in fullscreen with a mouse and keyboard. Aetherfall is in active development, and feedback is very welcome in the comments.