Iskra

Iskra is a rhythm game where you hear and see your progress at the same time. At the start only the beat plays and the world is a grey sketch. Every flawless stretch adds another layer of the song — bass, melody, chords and finally vocals — and with it color and life on screen. A mistake takes away one layer, and the run ends only when you are down to the bare beat.

The level is built from the song: obstacles sit on the drum hits, the ground rises as the music builds, and the structure of the song changes how you play. In the verse the spark jumps, in the chorus it flies through gates, in the drop it flips between floor and ceiling, and in a quiet bridge it floats like a bubble. The last chorus brings a duet: two sparks, left and right thumb.

Every song has its own land — sunset, underwater, storm, neon night, polar night with aurora, desert or space — and in the second half of the song night falls there. Songs with vocals and instrumentals are added regularly. You can also play your own music: pick a file and the game builds a level from it in your browser, without uploading the song anywhere.

Ghosts of other players run beside you — your best run, a few slightly better ones and the very best — and every day has its own track of the day with a ranking. The server scores each run from its recording, so the leaderboard is fair. Three difficulties, five looks for your spark to unlock and audio latency calibration. The game runs in the browser on computers and on phones held sideways.