Keep the light of the valley

A hero tower-defense game for phones. The Valeshard Cores that keep the land alive are going dark one by one. Lead Liora and the companions who join her along the road, set them where the enemy must pass, and hold every Core until the last wave breaks.

Coming toGoogle Play Coming to theApp Store

One journey, five chapters

Book I follows Liora from a quiet valley to the source of the light. Each chapter is its own land, with its own people, enemies and question, and every stage you clear moves the story on.

  1. 1

    The Fading Dawn

    Why are the valley's Cores going dark one by one?

    Seven stages, in the game
  2. 2

    The Dry Wells

    What does the Tusk Clan take the crystals for?

    Seven stages and a war-chief, in the game
  3. 3

    Names in the Mist

    Are the Graveborn monsters, or Guardians who were left behind?

    Being made
  4. 4

    The Fourfold Vault

    Can every land be saved without pouring all the light into one Core?

    Being made
  5. 5

    The First Core

    Will Eiran give up deciding alone?

    Being made
The journey screen: five chapters along a road up to a crystal citadel

How a battle goes

Enemies walk a fixed road from their gate to your Core. Heroes stand on pads beside it, so where you put them decides the fight.

The preparation screen: the enemies of the stage, a team of four Heroes and the skills carried

Read the road, pick your four

Before each stage you see which enemies are coming and what makes them tough: armour, speed, an elite in wave six. Take up to four Heroes and the skills that answer them.

A battle in the green valley: Heroes on stone pads beside a winding road, a meteor landing on enemies

Hold the bends

Every stage has its own pads along the road. A Hero covers a circle around its pad, so a pad inside a bend reaches the road twice. Raise Heroes to level three for their full power, and move one to another pad when the fight shifts.

A battle in the red canyon: lightning leaping between enemies and a ring of light around a Hero

Call down help

Meteor, Ice Storm, Gale, Snare, Mana Spring, Sunder, Rally, Mend, Arc Relay, Far Beacon.

Skills are yours, not your Heroes'. Drop them where the line is about to break, then wait out their cooldown. Need Mana sooner? Call the next wave early and get paid for the risk.

The last stage of Chapter 2: the Tusk War-Chief walking up the road toward the Core

Face what the land sends

Each chapter brings new enemies, new kinds of map and its own last stand. In the Dry Wells, roads split between two gates, high ground lets a Hero shoot further, and a war-chief waits at the end.

Twelve heroes, each with one job

Heroes are not bought. They join you through the story, and each changes what a good team looks like.

Liora

Elf Archer

Fast arrows at the enemy in front; they pierce at level three.

With you from the start

Aeris

Arcane Mage

Bursts of magic that hit a whole group.

Joins in Chapter 1

Brum

Hammer Guard

Short-range hammer blows that stun.

Joins in Chapter 1

Cael

Spear Warden

A thrust that runs through every enemy in a line.

Joins in Chapter 1

Seraphine

Sun Priestess

Speeds up the Heroes around her.

Joins in Chapter 1

Nyra

Shadowblade

Marks enemies and finishes off the weakened.

Joins in Chapter 2

Mira

Alchemist

Poison flasks that eat through armour.

Joins in Chapter 2

Thorne

Beastmaster

Sends beasts to hold a stretch of road.

Joins later in Book I

Orin

Stormcaller

Lightning that jumps from enemy to enemy.

Joins later in Book I

Garrick

Banner Captain

Rallies nearby Heroes and earns extra Mana.

Joins later in Book I

Sylwen

Frost Warden

Slows the road, then freezes it.

Joins later in Book I

Rook

Arcane Artificer

Lays rune traps along the road.

Joins later in Book I

What comes down the road

Some are quick, some are armoured, some shrug off arrows and fall to magic. Elites carry a strength of their wave and are announced before they come.

Skeleton Raider
Rot Ghoul
Mist Wraith
Ogre Bruiser
Tusk Runner
Tusk Shieldbearer
The Tusk War-Chief, a huge boar-faced warrior with a stone hammer

The Tusk War-Chief

He holds the gate at the end of the Dry Wells and will not hear the Guardians until he is beaten. He stops to roar when he arrives, shrugs off stuns and slows, and when his health falls to half he charges the Core.

Beat him and the clan listens. Whether the truce holds is for Chapter 3.

A story told between battles

Painted scenes open and close the stages that matter: who you meet, what you learn, and what it costs.

Cael, a young knight with a spear, meeting Liora
Cael, the spear warden, takes his place beside Liora.
The valley seen from above at sunset, its Cores alight
The headwater Core holds, and the valley stays lit.
Nyra handing back a dimmed Core shard beside a village well
Nyra took the shard to keep a well running.
Mira showing her readings to the Tusk War-Chief
Three wells went dry on the same day. Mira can prove it.

Good to know

Platforms
Android and iOS phones
Account
None needed
Internet
Only to download each chapter once
Language
English
Your progress
Saved on your phone
When does it come out?

The game is being tested now. When it reaches Google Play and the App Store, this page will link to both.

How much space does it need?

About 110 MB to install. Each chapter then downloads its maps, scenes and music the first time you reach it, about 45 MB a chapter.

Can I play without a connection?

Yes. Once a chapter is downloaded, its stages play offline.

What does the game collect?

Only anonymous play data, such as which stages are won or left, to help balance the game. It names no one and can be switched off in Settings. The privacy policy has the details.

How do I reach you?

Write to support@valeshard.com.