Riftmarch

Summon soldiers and monsters through your rift gate, march them down the lane and break enemy fortresses in 22 battles and an Endless Siege.

Riftmarch is a side-scrolling war game about summoning. Your fortress and its rift gate stand on the left, the enemy camp on the right, and the lane between them is the whole battle. Mana refills over time; spend it to tear the rift open and call units through, and they march right and fight on their own. Start with Squires and Slingers, and a Stone Golem answers your rift in the very first battle. Then unlock Halberdiers, Longbows, Bulwarks and Lamplighters, and summon more monsters: the Wyvern, Treant, Fire Salamander, Shadow Wraith, Frost Giant, Thunder Roc and finally the colossal Rift Titan. Every unit has a role and clear counters. You also walk your hero, the Riftcaller, along the lane, fire three abilities (Rift Lance, Warding Slam and Rift Surge) and cast four spells: Meteor, Frost Nova, Rally and Mending Light. The campaign crosses four regions in 22 stages, from Hollin Meadows through the Drowned Fen and the Cinderworks to the Rime Expanse. You face the Ashen Legion, the Bog Hags, the Clockwork Host and the Frost Court, and each region ends with a three-phase boss: Smolderhorn, Mother Mirelung, the Orrery Engine and the Sleet Wyrm. Each win earns up to three stars and gems for upgrades: unit tiers with a special trait at tier 3, monster unlocks, hero abilities, spells, fortress walls and mana. Endless Siege sends escalating waves through a rift portal for a high score. On Goblin Arcade your progress saves automatically.

By Goblin Originals

How to play

Tap cards, hold ◀ ▶, tap powers / 1–8 summon, A/D walk, J K L, Q W E R, drag or wheel to pan

Mana refills over time. Spend it on the summon bar by tapping a card or pressing 1–8 to call that unit through your rift gate. Each card shows its mana cost, and a sweep with seconds means it is recharging. Units march right and fight on their own.

Walk your hero, the Riftcaller, with the ◀ ▶ buttons, A/D or the arrow keys. The hero attacks nearby foes while standing still. J, K and L, or the hero buttons, fire Rift Lance, Warding Slam and Rift Surge.

Cast Meteor, Frost Nova, Rally and Mending Light with Q, W, E and R where the mouse points. On a touch screen, tap a spell and then the lane, or tap the spell again to let it aim itself. Drag the battlefield or use the mouse wheel to look around; Follow re-centres the camera.

Break the enemy camp before they break your fortress. A boss wards its camp until it falls. Between battles, spend gems on unit tiers, monster unlocks, hero abilities, spells, walls and mana.

Tips

Every unit has a job. Halberdiers stop big monsters, Longbows and the Thunder Roc shoot down fliers, the Fire Salamander and Frost Giant clear crowds, and the Shadow Wraith hunts archers. The Codex lists what each unit beats and what beats it.

Kills refund 45% of the victim's mana cost, so winning a fight pays for the next summons.

A win earns one star. Meet any one goal (fortress health, battle time or units lost) for two stars, and all three for three. New stars pay extra gems.

The Rift Titan costs 250 mana, more than the 200 your mana pool holds at the start. Buy the first Mana Well upgrade (Fortress tab) before you rely on it; its card says so until you do.

Keep your Riftcaller alive: while the hero is down, mana flows a third slower. Walk them up behind your front line, where they hit hard while standing still.

Can I play this war game online for free?

Yes. Riftmarch is an original single-player browser game in the spirit of the classic side-scrolling war games of the Flash era. It runs in the page with no download, account or app.

Can I play Riftmarch on a phone?

Yes. Landscape plays best, with the summon cards, hero buttons, abilities and spells all within reach, and you can walk the hero with one thumb while summoning with the other. Every button is at least 44 pixels. Portrait also works, with a compact HUD and a camera that follows the fight.

Does Riftmarch save my progress?

Yes, on Goblin Arcade. Cleared stages, stars, gems, upgrades, your summon bar, Endless Siege records and settings save automatically. A battle in progress starts over if you reload. Played outside the arcade, progress lasts only until the page closes.

What is Endless Siege?

Endless Siege unlocks after stage 1-3. It sends escalating waves through a rift portal until your fortress falls or you end the siege from the pause menu, with a boss every 10 waves. Your score counts kills (worth more in later waves), cleared waves and bosses, and a good run also earns gems for the campaign.

Can I play if I am colorblind?

Yes. Color is never the only signal. Your side faces right with forked pennants and light outlines, and foes face left with square sawtooth banners and heavy dark outlines. Every cost and cooldown is a number, and danger zones are hatched with a warning sign. Settings can turn off screen shake and reduce motion.

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