Cosmomatrix Seeker: how to play, tips and FAQ
Free arcade game · No download · Phone, tablet and computer
Written by Xavier Eric Francois Guiter, who designed and built this game. Updated .
Cosmomatrix Seeker is an exploration game drawn like an old home computer screen: black background, a few bright colors, a CRT filter and chiptune music that changes key with the region you walk through. The world has no edge. It is generated around you from a seed, region by region, across eight biomes from the Lattice Plains to the Chroma Reef.
Each cycle hides a Heart. It sits about 160 steps from where the cycle starts in the first cycle, 80 more in each cycle after that, up to 640. To open it you need fragments of resonance, five the first time and one more per cycle up to eight, and the only way to get them is to talk to the beings you meet. Meanwhile the world hunts you: Devourers, Striders, wraiths and the occasional flower with teeth.
- Navigation
- Risk assessment
- Reading clues
At a glance
- Fragments per Heart
- 5, rising to 8
- Heart distance
- About 160 steps, up to 640
- Biomes
- 8, plus hidden sanctums
- Integrity
- 3, up to 6
- Artifacts
- 6
- Freex Coins
- 3 per fragment, 25 per Heart
How to play Cosmomatrix Seeker
- Walk with WASD or the arrow keys, or click the ground to walk there. On a phone, drag on the left half of the screen to walk and on the right half to turn the view.
- Walk up to a being and press Space, Enter or TALK. Ask it where the Heart is, about itself or for a trade. Most beings give you a fragment of resonance; some ask a riddle first.
- Watch the radar in the top right corner. Beings who still hold a fragment blink on it. After your first fragment a needle points toward the Heart: it wobbles less with each fragment and points true, with the distance in steps, once you have them all.
- Escape danger with Shift or DASH, a short invulnerable burst. X or PULSE sends a ring that destroys wraiths and stuns Devourers for 3 seconds.
- With enough fragments, talk to the Heart and touch it. The cycle ends, the world refolds, and a new Heart starts beating farther away.
Controls
| Action | Computer | Phone or tablet |
|---|---|---|
| Walk | WASD or arrow keys | Drag on the left half |
| Walk to a spot or a being | Click it | Tap it |
| Talk, open a gate, next line | Space, Enter or F | TALK button, tap the box |
| Pick an answer | Arrows and Enter, or 1 to 3 | Tap it |
| Dash | Shift | DASH button |
| Pulse | X | PULSE button |
| Turn the view | Q and E, or drag | Drag on the right half, < and > buttons |
| Zoom | Mouse wheel, + and - | Pinch |
Beings, riddles and trades
Beings come in 13 kinds, from oracles and golems to moths, a broadcaster and an ouroboros, each with a temperament that colors what it says. Ask one where the Heart is and it gives you a fragment along with a direction and a distance. About a third ask a riddle first, with three answers. A wrong answer and that being will not try again for 45 seconds.
Some beings trade for gems: one gem to mend your integrity, one to see hidden seams for 150 seconds, two for a fold jump toward the Heart. Titans, much larger, give a single boon each: one more integrity pip (up to 6), the exact position of the Heart until the cycle ends, three gems, or a calm that keeps storms away for 240 seconds.
Hunters and hazards
Devourers spot you from 11 steps and hit for 2, Striders from 13 and hit for 1. Neither appears within 45 steps of where the cycle began or 30 of the Heart. You walk at 5.2, faster than both (3.6 and 4.1 when they chase), so running away works on open ground. After a hit you are untouchable for 1.6 seconds.
Wraiths appear out of the static, chase you and cost 1 integrity on contact. They cannot enter the light of a lamp. A static storm comes every 110 to 180 seconds, announced 8 seconds ahead, and for its 25 seconds wraiths appear nine times as often, up to 8 at once. Snapjaws are flowers that bite for 1 if you stand within 4 steps when the petals close. Vortices pull you in: a wild one throws you 70 to 140 steps away, a golden one carries you halfway to the Heart (up to 90 steps) and shifts the colors of the world.
Pulse reaches 5.5 steps and recharges in 7 seconds; the Resonant Bell makes it 8.5 and 4.5. It destroys wraiths and stuns Devourers for 3 seconds. Dash lasts a quarter of a second, during which nothing can hurt you, and recharges in 2.2 seconds, or 1.1 with the Folding Boots.
Points and the leaderboard
A mote is worth 10, a gem 100, a kindled lamp 100, a wraith cleared by a pulse 50, a fragment 500, a titan boon 800, a secret passage 1000 and an artifact 1500. A storm survived adds 750 and touching the Heart 5000 times the cycle number. Everything is multiplied by the combo: every 5 pickups in a row raise it by one, up to x8, and a hit or a pause of 2.6 seconds resets it.
The counter in the game adds up every cycle since you started. The leaderboard records cycles: when you touch a Heart, the points earned since the previous one are sent with the time you played in between.
Tips to score higher
- Lamps are the only safe ground. Walking up to one kindles it, and if you lose all your integrity you come back at the last lamp you kindled, without your gems.
- When a static storm is announced you have 8 seconds. Get into lamplight: during the 25 seconds of the storm, wraiths appear nine times as often. Surviving it is worth 750 points.
- Collect motes in a row to build the combo. Every 5 pickups add x1, up to x8, and the multiplier applies to everything you score until you get hit or wait too long.
- Gem gates ask for 1 to 3 gems of one color. About half lead to a hidden sanctum, where an artifact often waits. The others fold you up to 140 steps closer to the Heart.
Common mistakes
- Wandering without asking the way. Every fragment comes with a direction and a distance, and the clue stays on screen.
- Ignoring the storm countdown. Eight seconds is enough to reach a lamp you can see, rarely one you cannot.
- Guessing riddles. A wrong answer locks that being for 45 seconds, so read all three answers first.
- Hoarding gems in dangerous ground. You lose all of them when you unravel, so spend them on gates and trades.
Cosmomatrix Seeker FAQ
How is the score counted on the leaderboard?+
The leaderboard keeps your best cycle: the points earned from the start of a cycle to the moment you touch its Heart, with the time you actually played. The counter in the game adds up every cycle since you started, so it is higher than what you see on the leaderboard.
Do I lose everything when I die?+
No. When your integrity runs out you unravel, lose the gems you carry and come back at the last lamp you kindled. Your score, fragments and artifacts stay.
Can I play with a controller?+
Yes. The left stick walks, A talks, B dashes, X pulses, and the shoulder buttons turn the camera. The game is also playable in French: switch on the title screen or with the FR button.
Where is my progress saved?+
In your browser on this device, after every few seconds of play. You earn 3 Freex Coins for each fragment of resonance and 25 for each Heart.
