Your Light
Your light is your life. As your glow weakens, your visibility shrinks, and once your light extinguishes completely, your run is over.
Light Decay
Section titled “Light Decay”Your light constantly drains. How fast your luminescence fades depends on several factors:
- Your Jellyfish’s Lifetime Trait: Each playable jellyfish has distinct attributes. Jellyfish with a high Lifetime trait burn their glow slowly, giving you far more time between absorptions, while low-lifetime species burn fast. The default jellyfish (Karumoana) sits comfortably right in the middle as a balanced standard.
- Afflictions (Poison & Parasites): Being poisoned speeds up your base light drain for a short duration. Parasites are even more dangerous because their drain stacks—the more Parakuka clinging to you, the faster your glow collapses.
Damage
Section titled “Damage”Bites and contact damage directly carve away chunks of your remaining light.
The most dangerous predators will kill you instantly. Do your best to stay away from them.
Safe Havens
Section titled “Safe Havens”Certain areas in the abyss grant temporary refuge by completely pausing your light decay:
- Birth Zones: The tranquil area where each run begins pauses decay until you venture into the caverns.
- The Humenganui: Swimming inside the protective tentacles of this giant anemone shelters you from predators and halts light loss.
- Hidden Areas: Rare secret pockets also freeze light consumption while you rest inside them.
How to Restore Your Light
Section titled “How to Restore Your Light”Survival requires constantly feeding your glow by absorbing luminous creatures and interacting with rare but generous light sources:
1. Mapura
Section titled “1. Mapura”These tiny glowing fish are your most important means of survival. Found everywhere, in all biomes, and at all difficulties, absorbing them restores a small portion of your light and keeps your momentum going.
2. Kotiri and other larger luminous prey
Section titled “2. Kotiri and other larger luminous prey”Larger, faster luminous prey appear less frequently. They are noticeably harder to catch, but reward your agility by restoring more light than a Mapura.
3. Ramapingore
Section titled “3. Ramapingore”Break their bulbs by bumping into them. Triggering the Shockwave ability to break a patch all at once is one of the best ways to fully recover from near-death.
4. Crystals
Section titled “4. Crystals”Usually found in patches. Bumping into crystals replenishes your light repeatedly, while simultaneously dislodging and stunning any parasites clinging to your bell.
5. Stars
Section titled “5. Stars”If you are caught in a pinch with no prey in sight, using a star (via the top-right button or double-tap) instantly restores an emergency pulse of light.
Scoring
Section titled “Scoring”Every luminous creature you absorb and bulb you break adds one point to your run score, regardless of its size.
While larger prey restore more light, they do not award bonus points.
Nothing else awards points. Infinite light sources (such as crystals and certain unlocked secret creatures) keep you alive, but do not contribute to your final score.
Want to play without light decay?
Section titled “Want to play without light decay?”The upcoming update introduces the much awaited Zen Mode, a bonus mode set in dedicated, peaceful caverns featuring zero light decay, no predator damage, and pure, stress-free exploration.