About GrottoCamp

About

Under the mountain, something burns in the dark.

GrottoCamp is a first-person survival game set inside a mountain. You go underground with only what you can carry and a small light, and you try to come back out.

Somewhere at the very bottom, hidden in a narrow passage near an underground river, lies the Heart Gem. Reach it, take it, and carry it all the way back outside the cave. Bring it out into daylight and you win. On the shorter trips you win by coming back alive.

The mountain has three stages, one below the other: the Crystal Dark, the Flooded Deep and the Upper Galleries. Every cave is carved fresh for each run, so no two descents are the same. Something lives down there. You will rarely see it, but you will hear it.

Beautiful, and dangerous

It is a beautiful place: halls of glittering crystal, still green pools dotted with lilies, ferns and fireflies, and rivers that shimmer in your lamp. But the cold chills you, the air grows thin, and your heart pounds when something stirs in the dark. Take a moment to look around, and keep your light alive while you do.

Where you can play

GrottoCamp is free and runs in your web browser on a computer, a tablet or a phone (phones and tablets are played sideways). There is nothing to download. On Android and desktop Chrome or Edge you can install it like an app from the home page. On an iPhone or iPad, tap Share and then Add to Home Screen.

Who makes it

GrottoCamp is a project by AUDDCONCEPT. It runs entirely in your browser. You can reach us at hell@grottocamp.com.

How to play

Pack light, keep your light alive, and find your way back.

Choose your cave

Gentle Descent (Normal) is the Crystal Dark only. Into the Unknown (Hard) goes on into the Flooded Deep. Descent into Darkness (Extreme) takes all three stages, down to the Heart Gem. Shorter trips are won by coming back alive. The deepest trip is won by bringing the gem out.

Pack carefully

Everything you carry has weight, and you can carry 16 kg. A heavy pack slows you down and tires you faster. You always carry a head torch. A hand lantern (oil) and a fire torch are optional extras you can switch to, one light at a time.

Spare batteries, water, food, a fire kit and a med kit are the basics. Flares scare off what hunts you. Chalk marks your way. A cloth mask, a thermal blanket and a floor mat help with what lies deeper. The panel on the right of the pack screen shows your weight, what you carry, what it gives you, and what you are missing.

Controls on a computer

• W A S D to move, Shift to run, and the mouse to look.
• I to use or interact, L to switch your light on or off, Tab to switch between the lights you packed, M to change the beam, and B to change the battery, refill the lantern or re-wrap the torch.
• F to light a fire, H to use the med kit, E to eat, Y to drink, R to sit and rest, and C to make camp at an old fire ring (by the river or in the haven): a campfire burns for 15 minutes, and you rest beside it until your health, mind and strength are back.
• G to throw a flare, X to put on or take off the cloth mask in gas (it clogs after a few minutes, and wearing it long makes breathing hard), Space to make a chalk mark, N for the nav (an arrow that shows the way: ahead, left or right, at a small cost to your sanity), K to show or hide the key bar, and Esc to pause.

Controls on a phone or tablet

• The left stick moves you. Push it in any direction, and push it all the way to the edge to run.
• The right stick turns and looks. Hold it left or right to turn, up or down to look. You can also drag anywhere on the right half of the screen.
• The buttons above the right stick are USE, LIGHT, FLARE and CHALK. The … button opens the rest: eat, drink, med kit, fire, camp, rest, battery, switch light, beam and whisper.
• Pause and Exit are at the bottom centre. Exit asks you first.

Stay alive

Watch the meters at the top of the screen. Health falls from injuries, cold, gas, hunger and thirst. Sanity falls in darkness, in gas and near the thing in the dark, so keep your light on. Breath runs out when you run, so stop and rest. Tiredness builds the longer you are awake. Water and food run down as you go. Temperature drops in the cold and the wet. Your heart rate rises when you run or when something frightens you.

When something needs your attention, its message appears at the bottom of the screen.

Camp and sleep

When night falls outside, find an old fire ring and make camp. Eat, drink and sleep until morning to get your health and nerve back. Creatures are still out there in the dark, so rest only where it is safe.

Finding your way

Mark the walls with chalk so you do not walk in circles. Each stage leads to the next through a single opening. The way back is the way you came.

The river

A fast river crosses the last stage. The current drags you downstream toward a hole where it vanishes under the rock, and nobody comes back from there. Walk at an angle into the current and do not run.

The Descent

What waits in each cave, and what to bring.

Every trip enters through the Crystal Dark. A longer trip goes on into the Flooded Deep, and the longest takes you to the river, the Heart Gem and the long climb back.

1. The Crystal Dark

Glittering tunnels, tight squeezes and poison gas.

You face pockets of gas, narrow squeezes, bats, the unseen stalker, the Nightwing swooping down long tunnels, and the bones of those who never came back.

You use a cloth mask in the gas, flares to scare the stalker, chalk to mark your way and spare batteries to keep your light alive.

2. The Flooded Deep

Cold, wet caves with deep dark ponds and one hidden beauty.

You face deep ponds, crocodiles on the banks and in the pools, pythons in the overgrown passages, and a cold that drains you.

You use a fire kit and a blanket to stay warm, a machete for tall grass, a med kit for bites, and food and water to keep going.

You find a hidden grotto with a glowing pond, lilies and fireflies, where the stalkers never come.

3. The Upper Galleries

A fast river cuts across the last cave.

You face a strong current that drags you toward a hole where the river vanishes under the rock. Cross at an angle and never run.

You find a dry hollow with a hearth and driftwood beyond the river where you can camp, and the Heart Gem hidden in a narrow passage nearby.

4. The Way Out

The climb back is the hardest part.

You face the dark, the creatures and a failing light, now carrying the Heart Gem.

You use what you saved: spare batteries and flares, food and water, a med kit. Rest at old fire rings, sleep until morning, and walk out into daylight to win.