16-bit retro beat 'em up · free · in your browser
A cult runs the city and the police do its bidding. You've got your fists, two friends and one night to fight your way from the estates to the catacombs under the Élysée. No account, nothing to install: your first brawl starts in thirty seconds.
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New in 1.4
When a boss loses his first health bar, lightning strikes him. A force field pushes everyone back, and he rises again transformed: the President as a cyborg, the High Priestess with her hair on fire. Faster, harder to stop. That's when the real fight begins.
Choose your fighter
17, fascinated by 18th-century France. The toughest of the three: he holds the line when the wave breaks through.
⚡ Special: the electric lariat
"In 1789 they had a king who talked just like you. We all know how that story ends."
17, a Kendrick Lamar fan. The most balanced: long legs, kicks that reach far, and always a comeback.
🔥 Special: the hurricane kick
"You've got the police, you've got the cult… but you don't have the streets."
17, a football fan. The fastest: she dodges what the others take, and strikes three times while they get back up.
🌪️ Special: the wind spin
"Bismillah. We're going to turn the light back on."
Those who rule the city
"This city belongs to me. The police obey me, the cult protects me… and you are nothing."
He guards the Élysée lift with his bodyguards. Flying kicks, volleys of bombs… and once you hit him hard, a steel arm and grenades that blow up on impact.
"Tonight, my city will drink your light, to the very last drop."
She waits at the bottom of the catacombs. She charges on all fours, teleports behind you, and once she bursts into flames, your combos no longer make her flinch.
The screen goes dark, the portraits slide in, the villain threatens and your hero answers. Issa, Erwan and Samira each have their own line: finish the game with all three to hear everything.
"Bismillah, c'est les ténèbres"
October 2026, in the middle of the French high school protests. A Snapchat message signed by a supposed student, widely believed to come from an undercover police officer though nothing proved it, goes around: "Bismillah, c'est les ténèbres", roughly "In the name of God, it's darkness". Within days the sentence becomes a meme, then a slogan on protest signs, as far as Italy and Portugal.
Les Ténèbres was born from it: a city plunged into darkness, police following orders, and high school kids standing up. But the game turns the sentence around. Facing the President, Issa brings up 1789, like the variant "Bismillah, c'est les Lumières #1789" ("it's the Enlightenment"); and at the end of the night, Samira says: "Bismillah, we're going to turn the light back on."
The expression explained (The Local) ↗ · The slogan on Wikipedia (in French) ↗
One night, three districts
The corner shop, the laundromat, the garage. The first waves, the first batons picked up from the floor, and a van dropping off a fresh wave.
The metro, the Concorde, the shop windows. More enemies, whips, and riot police with shields you have to take from behind.
The gardens, the palace, the lift… then the catacombs, where an urn hides the only extra life in the game.
Get a grip
| Action | Solo | Two players: player 1 | Two players: player 2 | Gamepad |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Arrows or WASD | WASD | Arrows | Stick |
| Attack | J or X | F | J or Numpad 1 | X |
| Jump | K, C or Space | G | K or Numpad 2 | A |
| Special | L or V | H | L or Numpad 3 | Y |
| Backup | R or B | R | P or Numpad 0 | B |
| Pause | Enter | Start | ||
Every key can be changed in Options › Keys. With a single gamepad for two players, it goes to player 2 and player 1 keeps the whole keyboard. On a phone, turn the screen sideways: a stick and four buttons appear.
Lost? Go again.
Out of lives? The screen shows "CONTINUE?" and ten seconds. Scan the QR code with a Lightning wallet, pay 100 sats, and you're back with three lives, right where you fell. Like in the arcades, your score goes back to zero. With two players, each one pays for themselves. Never required, never any ads: it's what keeps the game alive.
What is a sat? The smallest unit of bitcoin: 100 million sats make one bitcoin, and 100 sats are worth just a few cents. This page explains it all, simply.
The game picks your browser's language. You can change it anytime in the options.
Yes: it runs in your browser, with no account, nothing to install and no ads. Only the optional continue costs 100 sats.
Yes, on the same keyboard (player 1 on WASD with F, G, H; player 2 on the arrows with J, K, L) or with a gamepad each.
Yes, in landscape mode: a stick on the left and four buttons on the right appear on screen. On iPhone, add the page to your home screen for true full screen. With a keyboard or a gamepad, it's even better.
About thirty minutes for the three levels. Three difficulty settings: easy, normal (the default) and hard, for those who want to finish without a continue.
The game was born from that October 2026 high school meme: a city in darkness, kids standing up, and an ending where Samira turns the light back on. The sentence itself isn't in the game, which turns it around.
No. No account, no tracker, no ads. Your settings and your high scores stay on your device.
A sat (satoshi) is the smallest unit of bitcoin: 100 million sats make one bitcoin. 100 sats are worth a few cents and are paid over Lightning, from a wallet, with no account or card. All about sats.
Thirty seconds to start the first brawl. One night to turn the light back on.
LES TÉNÈBRES