DEVELOPMENT LAB / SOLO TEST RUNS

HIVE RUN.

Two ways to grow. Trap evolving predators in Predator Hunt, or collect glowing brood in Brood Trail. Descend through ancient chambers with five colors of mutation.

◈ THE HATCHERY

AUDIO OFF

SCORE000000

SESSION BEST000000

EVOLUTION01

READY TO SWARM?

Trap wandering Skitters and predictable Runners first. You get one free dodge against ordinary prey, but bosses remain dangerous. Captures unlock evolutions.

SWIPE TO TURN · KEYBOARD: ↑ ↓ ← → / WASD TURN HIGHLIGHTS APPEAR INSTANTLY

FIELD GUIDE · HOW TO PLAY & ENCOUNTERS

PREDATOR HUNT: Trap prey using your body. Your first ordinary-prey collision is forgiven and early enemies are slower. Bosses need two or three captures.

BROOD TRAIL: Classic Snake. Swipe or use arrow keys / WASD, collect brood orbs, grow your swarm and avoid your tail.

MUTATIONS: Captures grant 3 energy; Brood Trail orbs grant 1. Every 5 energy, select with 1 / 2 / 3 or tap a card (WASD and arrows never choose). Five original WUBRG powers combine: White + Green unlocks a Hatchling Ward (press Q or its button, consuming one shield and one growth charge); Blue + Red grants extra steering time; Black + Green can save a tail segment on a molt.

BOSSES: Evolution 2: Burrow Stalker; 4: Hatchery Warden; 6: Tunnel Weaver; 8: Rift Guardian; 12: Broodmother (Egg Bloom). Boss dossiers pause the action before encounters. All five can be practiced in The Lair.

DEPTHS: Backgrounds change after 4, 8, and 12 evolutions. Dashed tiles warn before blocking.

DEEP CUTS / DEVELOPMENT LABSOLO BUILD

PATCH NOTES.

Latest changes to the standalone test build. PROFILE CODEX PREVIEW ↗

15 OCT 2026 · MATRIARCH

Matriarch

TEST ONLY: Three-capture Broodmother at evolution 12 and in The Lair; Egg Bloom hazard, White+Green Hatchling Ward (Q or tap), Blue+Red and Black+Green mutation synergies. None are on the public game yet.

15 OCT 2026 · BEACON

Beacon

Safer orb pickups: mutation choices use 1 / 2 / 3 or tap only, never movement keys. Improved amber escape cues and capture score flashes in the normal arcade game. Hive Codex is previewed separately as a profile feature—not an extra game HUD. Beacon 1.4 shipped separately on the public site.

14 OCT 2026 · SPINDLE

Spindle

Webs recharge every 5 seconds, with three simultaneously. Rift Guardian charges for 4 seconds. Bosses avoid their own ability hazards. Phase and ability meters are outside the arena.

14 OCT 2026 · SNARE

Snare

Webs immobilize only your swarm while the Weaver keeps hunting and spinning webs. Rift Guardian pulses every 2 seconds; all bosses move at the same cadence. Brood Trail is Arcade-only, and the dated challenge has been retired.

14 OCT 2026 · LAIR

Lair

Select and practice any of the four bosses. Instant retry, danger warnings and richer capture effects. No leaderboard or profile scores.

14 OCT 2026 · INSTINCT

Instinct

Mutation shortcuts: W/A/S, ↑/←/↓, or 1/2/3. Desktop gameplay waits for a deliberate movement key; touch play resumes instantly. Brood Trail descriptions now match its orb-only rules. HUD shows a session-only best.

14 OCT 2026 · UI CLEANUP

Clearer Playfield

Removed directional buttons, extra statistics and the long instruction sidebar. Steering remains swipe and keyboard, with hidden diagnostics available on demand.

14 OCT 2026 · SOLO LAB

Local Experiments Only

Removed shared scores, account links and submissions. Test both modes locally with Arcade runs and repeatable Lair encounters.

14 OCT 2026 · 1.0.4

Four Painted Depths

Added individually illustrated backgrounds for the Hatchery, Burrows, Fracture and Deep Fracture.

14 OCT 2026 · 1.0.3

Boss Dossiers

Each boss pauses the game for a mechanics briefing and a three-second regroup countdown.

14 OCT 2026 · 1.0.2

Early Game Balance

Faster turn feedback, one forgiving prey collision, slower opening enemies, quicker orbs and optional trap hints.

HIVE RUN.

READY TO SWARM?

BURROW STALKER

THREAT PROFILE

SURVIVAL NOTES