Early Access v0.16 // Boss In Testing

Cypher Runner

Reach the core. Survive The Cypher.

A cyberpunk roguelike platformer with procedural levels, permadeath, and meta-progression. Run, jump, wall climb, and dash through hostile depths — and now face what's waiting at the end.

Godot 4.7 Roguelike Platformer Procedural Permadeath
Download Build 16 Patch Notes Wishlist on Steam
PCG
Level Gen
4
Enemy Types
∞
Depth Scaling
0
Asset Files

Download

Grab the latest build and start running. Windows desktop, more platforms coming soon.

Cypher Runner — Build 16

Meet The Cypher // Boss In Testing

Latest
Windows (64-bit)
Linux — Coming Soon

No install required — extract and run. Procedural audio/visuals mean no external assets needed. Steam release planned.

// Coming to Steam

The boss is in testing. The run finale is coming. Wishlist now to stay in the loop.

Get notified at launch and help shape the game — your feedback on The Cypher fight matters.

Wishlist on Steam Test Build 16

Features

Everything procedural. No sprite sheets. No audio files. Pure code.

Full Movement Kit

Run, jump (coyote time + jump buffer), wall slide/jump/climb, dash, and purchasable double jump.

4 Enemy Types

Patrol, Drone, Charger, and Turret — each with unique behaviors and zone-based difficulty scaling.

Procedural Chunk Generation

Levels are procedurally generated at runtime with two layout modes: ground-run and platform-hop. No two runs share the same layout.

Meta-Progression Shop

+HP, shield, double jump, speed boost (stackable/sellable), dash range — persists across runs.

Local Leaderboard

Top 10 scores persisted locally. Score = depth × 1000 + coins. Animated rank reveal.

Procedural Audio & Visuals

Zero external assets. All audio synthesized at runtime. All visuals drawn from code.

In-Game Tuning Screen

Adjust hop/gap chunk ratio, hazard frequency, enemy density, and speed scaling per zone — all without touching code.

Zone Scaling

Enemy speed +20% and turret fire rate -15% per zone (every 5 depths). Difficulty never caps.

Steam Planned

Desktop release on Steam with cloud leaderboards. Android as second phase.

Build 16 // In Development

The Cypher — Concept Art

A first look at the world and boss taking shape. These are directional concepts — the in-game visuals are an evolving stylized version built entirely from code.

The Cypher — Phase 1, hot pink assault form

Phase 1 // Hot Pink

Initial assault form. Telegraphed charge, exposed core window.

Concept art — in development

The Cypher — Phase 2, electric purple, core exposed

Phase 2 // Electric Purple

Armor stripped. Faster, more aggressive. Pattern disruption required.

Concept art — in development

The Cypher — Phase 3, molten red meltdown

Phase 3 // Molten Red

Core exposed. Final meltdown. Everything hits harder.

Concept art — in development

Cypher Runner world — neon megacity street level

World // Neon Megacity

Dense streets, holo billboards, wet reflective surfaces. The world the runner lives in.

Concept art — in development

Cypher Runner world — near street view with kanji signage

World // Street Level

Kanji signage, neon reflections on wet pavement. The depths run beneath this city.

Concept art — in development

Patch Notes

Development history and changelogs for each build.

Build 16 — Meet The Cypher June 29, 2026

  • First Boss Encounter — "The Cypher" [in testing] — A massive multi-phase armored construct now waits at the end of the run. Dodge its telegraphed charge, find the exposed window, then dash through to break it down. Three escalating phases: hot pink, electric purple, and a final molten-red meltdown. Accessible now via the Boss Test arena while we wire it into the full depth-15 finale
  • New Art Direction Pass — Richer neon environments and updated character and boss visuals are underway. The world is getting a visual upgrade to match the scope of what's being built
  • Version bumped to v0.16

Build 15 — HDR Support + Mid-Run Augments June 27, 2026

  • HDR Support — The neon cyberpunk visuals now render in true HDR on capable displays (Steam Deck OLED, HDR monitors), with brighter, punchier glow and bloom. Falls back cleanly to SDR on non-HDR setups. Toggleable in Settings
  • Mid-Run Augments — Clearing a zone (every 5 depths) now pauses the run and offers a choice of 3 random run-scoped buffs, Hades-style. Pick one and carry it through the rest of the run. Makes every run play differently
  • Augment pool: instant +1 HP, faster dash cooldown, 2× credit drops, one-hit shield, one-time revive on death, and the high-risk Glass Cannon (2× credits — but you take 2× damage)

Build 14 — Game Feel Update June 10, 2026

  • Combat Impact Overhaul — Dash kills now land with real weight: a split-second freeze-frame (hit-stop) and a screen shake fire every time you dash through an enemy. Works on all four enemy types: Patrol, Drone, Charger, and Turret
  • Hard Landing Feedback — Drop from a big height and the screen now kicks on impact, scaled to how fast you were falling
  • Smarter Camera — The camera now leads in the direction you're running, showing you more of what's coming instead of what's behind you. Built to matter in a game about reacting fast at high speed
  • Character Animation Juice — The runner now stretches on jumps, flattens on dashes, and squashes on landings (extra squash on hard landings), making every move read clearly at speed
  • Pause Menu — Press ESC (or Start on a controller) to pause mid-run. Resume instantly, or abandon the run with Q. Abandoned runs end through the normal run-end flow, so your depth and score still count toward the local leaderboard

Build 13 — Wall Climbing Rework + Display Settings

  • Wall Climbing Reworked — hold the directional input into the wall and press jump to climb up. Pressing jump without a direction (or while pushing away) still launches you off the wall. The old hold-for-150ms mechanic has been replaced entirely
  • Display Settings — full window and resolution control in the settings screen
  • Window Mode — press F to cycle between Windowed, Fullscreen, and Borderless
  • Resolution — press Q / E to step through 1280×720, 1600×900, 1920×1080, 2560×1440, and 3840×2160. Resolution only applies in Windowed mode
  • Bug Fix: Fixed a bug where the chunk the player was standing on could disappear mid-run, causing an instant death
  • Bug Fix: Fixed a bug where dying near the end of a chunk would respawn the player at the start of the next chunk instead of the current one

Build 12 — Slow Fall, Wall Climb Fix, Vault, Columns

  • Slow Fall Inside Pits — gravity drops to 35% of normal for the entire descent; falling feels floaty and controlled. Wall jumps carry further upward. Gravity snaps back to normal the instant you climb back out
  • Wall Climb Actually Works Now (Bug Fix) — previous design required holding jump for 0.25s while wall-sliding but the wall-jump input always fired first. Redesigned with tap-vs-hold: tap jump = wall jump, hold jump (0.15s+) = climb at 95px/s
  • Vault Over Wall Tops — when climbing a purple wall and reaching the top while still holding jump, you now automatically vault over the ledge with a short upward and forward boost. Makes the pit escape feel complete
  • Climbable Columns in Ground and Hop Chunks — purple columns (32px wide) now appear in non-pit chunk types. Ground chunks get 1–2 columns (200–300px tall) with a gold coin at the top. Hop chunks have 70% chance of one column on a wide platform with landing platforms on either side

Build 11 — Controller Support + Pit Escape Route

  • Full gamepad support for gameplay — D-pad or left analog stick to move, A (Cross) to jump, B (Circle) to dash
  • Controller buttons remappable in Settings screen — press keys 5–8 to assign a new button to each action
  • Menus still require keyboard
  • Pits now have an inner climbing shaft — two parallel purple walls inside the pit, close enough to wall-jump between
  • Gives a dedicated escape route: jump into one wall, wall-jump to the other, repeat to ascend
  • Shaft position varies randomly each run so it doesn't feel the same twice

Build 10 — Pit Chunks + Gecko Grip

  • Pit chunks appear at difficulty 3+ based on pit_chance (default 30%); ground sections on both sides let players skip entirely
  • Purple walls on pit edges are climbable using the existing wall-climb mechanic — no new player code
  • 2–3 coins at the pit bottom reward players who go in
  • Gecko Grip in shop ([6], 20 CR) extends wall climb time from 2.5s to 4.0s — makes deep pits far more forgiving
  • Pit and hazard floor cannot appear in the same chunk

Build 09 — Procedural Chunk Generation + Tuning Screen

  • Levels are now fully procedurally generated at runtime — no fixed hand-crafted chunk set
  • Two layout modes: ground-run (open floor with elevated platforms) and platform-hop (gap-based stepping stones with automatic bridge insertion)
  • No two runs share the same layout; no gap is ever impossible
  • New In-Game Tuning Screen accessible from Settings (press T)
  • Tune 4 gameplay levers without code: hop/gap chunk ratio, hazard floor frequency, enemy density (Low/Normal/High), and enemy speed scaling per zone

Build 08 — Local Leaderboard

  • After each run, players enter their name (up to 10 characters, pre-filled from last run)
  • Rank calculated and animated: "NEW HIGH SCORE!" for rank 1, "RANK #N" for top 10
  • Top 10 scores persist in user://leaderboard.tres — survives save wipes
  • Score formula: depth × 1000 + coins
  • Leaderboard accessible from main menu via the L key
  • Designed for local-first use; cloud and Steam backends planned for later

Build 07 — Depth Modifier System + New Chunks

  • Enemy difficulty now scales per zone (every 5 depths)
  • Enemy speed +20% per zone; turret fire rate -15% per zone (capped at 50% of base interval)
  • Zone 1 (depths 1–4): 1.0×/1.0×
  • Zone 2 (depths 5–9): 1.2× speed / 0.85× fire interval
  • Zone 3 (depths 10–14): 1.4× / 0.70×
  • Three new difficulty-4 chunks added (14 chunks total):
  • Chunk_Siege — 3 turrets with overlapping detection zones, gap crossings through crossfire
  • Chunk_Stampede — 2 Chargers + 2 Drones across wide split arenas
  • Chunk_Crucible — hazard floor gauntlet with all 4 enemy types