Umbra
Guide a small silhouette through ten moody scenes of shadow and puzzles.
How to play Umbra
Umbra is a quiet, atmospheric journey through ten connected scenes of shadow, and you guide a small silhouette figure with faint white eyes from one side of the dark to the other. Walk with the arrow keys or A and D, jump with the up arrow, W or Space, and hold E to grab and drag things. On a phone, use the on-screen arrow pad: up jumps and climbs, and holding down grabs. Each scene is one clean physics puzzle: push a crate onto a pressure plate to open a gate, time your dash between two swinging logs, drag a raft across water that would otherwise drown you, lure a chasing shadow-spider onto a snare, climb a swaying rope out of a pit, park a crate and open a valve to ride a rising flood, coax open a door that only answers to light, and finally outrun the dark itself. Mistakes are instant but forgiving: a checkpoint saves the start of every scene, so you never lose much. There's no clutter and no score chatter, just the mood, the puzzle in front of you, and your completion time when you reach the end.
How a scene works
Umbra's clock doesn't start until your first key press, so the slow fade in from black is free thinking time. The journey is ten scenes long, and each one is a single puzzle with its own checkpoint. Fall, drown or get caught, and that whole scene resets. Boxes go back to where they started, the raft returns to its bank and the water drains away. The clock pauses during the short fade after a fall. You still replay the scene from its start, so a late mistake costs far more than an early one.
You walk with the arrow keys or A and D, jump with Space, W or the up arrow, and hold E to grab. On a phone, use the on-screen arrow pad: left and right walk, up jumps, and holding down grabs. Pressing and holding on the scene grabs too. A jump reaches about twice your own height. Dragging a box roughly halves your speed, and jumping lets go of it.
The scenes that catch people
In The Gate, drag the box right until it stops. A low stone lip just past the pressure plate catches it, and the plate still counts it. Standing on the plate yourself opens the gate too, but it slams shut the moment you step off. Hop onto the box and walk through.
The Pendulums is where most first runs fall apart. Each log swings on a 2.9-second cycle, and it's only deadly for about half a second at a time, while it sweeps through the bottom of its arc. Running straight through without looking works about half the time. The reliable way is to stand directly under the first log at the moment it reaches the far left of its swing. Wait for it to swoop down through the bottom and away from you, then go that instant. Start from farther back and it usually catches you on the return swing. There's a narrow safe spot between the two logs, right under the far-left point of the second log's swing. Stop there and do it again.
For The Rain Crossing, step onto the raft, hold E and walk. The raft only moves while you stand on it and hold on, and the trip takes about five seconds. The far bank sits a little higher than the raft, so let go of E and hop up.
The spider in The Hollow charges as soon as you step into its clearing, and it's faster than you. Don't run. The rope loop on the ground lies between you and its nest. Walk a few steps in, stop a couple of body lengths short of the loop, and wait. The spider runs into the snare, and a log drops on it less than half a second later. That log is wider than the loop, which is why waiting right beside it gets you caught or crushed. Then hop over the fallen log.
In The Shaft, drop into the pit and stand under the rope. Press up or E to grab it, then hold up to climb. Get near the top before you let go, because the cliff sits well above the bottom of the rope. To leap across, hold right and press Space, or tap up again while holding right.
Water, light and the last run
In The Cistern, drag the crate right until it bumps the lip beside the valve wheel. Jump over it and hold E at the wheel for about a second and a half. The water starts rising just over a second later, so get onto the crate straight away. It floats up with the flood, which takes about 11 seconds to fill. At the top, jump right onto the ledge. Open the valve before parking the crate and you're stuck, because a floating crate can't be dragged. Jump in the water and the scene resets.
The Light Door opens while you stand in the beam of light, and it stays up for 2.6 seconds after you walk out. The run to the door takes a bit over a second, so you have more time than the hint suggests.
In The Counterweight, push the heavy box onto the basket over the pit, then stand on the platform to the right. It only rises while the basket is loaded and you're riding it, and it reaches the exit ledge in about two and a half seconds. Step off early and it sinks back down.
The last scene is a chase. The darkness wakes after your first step and moves about a quarter faster than you can run. Hold right the whole way and jump both gaps without breaking stride, and you'll beat it by a whisker. Stop for even half a second and it catches you. A tidy run with no falls can finish in under two minutes, and the Cistern's slow water eats a big share of that.
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Umbra: frequently asked questions
What kind of game is Umbra?
Umbra is an atmospheric, monochrome silhouette puzzle-platformer. It focuses on mood and one clean physics puzzle per scene (pushing crates, timing traps, moving rafts and ropes) rather than combat or scores. It is inspired by moody games like Limbo, but every scene, puzzle and character is original.
How do I interact with objects?
Hold the grab button (E on desktop, or hold down on the on-screen arrow pad) next to a crate, raft, rope or valve to take hold of it, then walk to push, pull or carry it. Solving each scene is about using those objects (plates, water, light and timing) to open the way forward.
What happens when I die?
Deaths are instant but the game is generous: every scene begins at a checkpoint, so a mistake only restarts the scene you are in, not the whole game. Take your time, read the shadows, and try again.
Is Umbra free and does it work on mobile?
Yes. It runs free in your browser with no download or sign-up, and includes on-screen walk, jump and grab controls for touch screens alongside keyboard play.
How do I get past the spider in The Hollow?
Don't run for the far side, because the spider is faster than you. Walk a few steps into the clearing, stop a couple of body lengths short of the rope loop on the ground, and wait. It charges into the loop, a log drops on it, and you hop over the log.
How do I jump from the rope to the cliff?
Climb most of the way up first, since the cliff top is well above the bottom of the rope. Then hold right and press Space, or tap up while holding right, and you leap off to that side. Holding down climbs back toward the pit floor.
What if I open the valve in The Cistern before moving the crate?
Once the water rises the crate floats, and a floating crate can't be dragged, so you can't reach the exit ledge. Jump into the water to restart the scene. The crate, valve and water all reset, and this time push the crate to the far wall first.
Does a fall count against my best time?
The clock pauses during the short fade after a fall, but the scene starts over from its checkpoint, so you lose all the time you had already spent in it. The end screen also shows how many times you fell.
How much of a head start do I get in the final chase?
Very little. The darkness wakes after your first step and moves about a quarter faster than you run. Holding right the whole way and jumping both gaps without slowing gets you out with a tiny margin, but stopping for even half a second lets it catch you. You can wait at the checkpoint as long as you like before that first step.
Is Umbra free to play?
Yes. Umbra is completely free on Inkplay, with no download, no sign-up, and no in-game purchases. Open the page and play instantly on desktop or mobile.
Can I play Umbra unblocked?
Yes. Umbra runs entirely in your browser with no download, install, or plugins, so it loads instantly and keeps working even on school or work networks where bigger game sites get blocked.
More games to play
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