Tip of the TentacleGame Info

Tip of the Tentacle · version 0.15.0

Survive the waves, one tentacle at a time

An action roguelite starring Pixel, a floating eye with eight tentacles: six carry weapons, and two power Pixel's abilities. Survive 20 waves of intrusive thoughts, spend the memories they drop on weapons and items between waves, and beat two bosses. Here's the full rundown.

BrowserWindowsAndroidKeyboard and mouseControllerTouch
The main menu: the title Tip of the Tentacle over Pixel, with Play, Collection, Options and Quit buttons.

Chapter 1

Get the game

Three ways to play, all the same game.

  1. 1

    Pick how you'll play

    Everything is on the game's page. Each version keeps its own progress.

    In your browserPress Play in Your Browser. Works best on a computer in an up-to-date Chrome, Edge or Firefox; the first load is about 33 MB. Saves and settings stay in that browser.
    WindowsDownload tip-of-the-tentacle-0.15.0-windows.exe and run it: nothing to install. If Windows asks, choose More info, then Run anyway.
    Android appDownload tip-of-the-tentacle-0.15.0-android.apk and open it. The first time, Android asks you to allow installs from your browser: allow it, then tap Install. Newer versions install over the top.

Chapter 2

Start a run

Every run is 20 waves. Beat wave 20 and you win; run out of health first and the run is over.

  1. 2

    Press Play

    The main menu has Play, Collection, Options and Quit (no Quit in the browser). After a run in progress was saved, Continue picks it up where you left it.

    Press <span class="ui">Play</span>
    The main menu
  2. 3

    Choose a starting weapon

    Pick the weapon Pixel starts with. At first Gaze Bolt and Barbed Lash are unlocked; any weapon you buy in the shop during a run is unlocked here for later runs.

    Choose a starting weapon
    Choose a Starting Weapon
  3. 4

    Choose a difficulty

    Level 0 is the base game. Win a level to unlock the next; each one keeps everything from the levels below it.

    • Your runs and wins at each level show beside it.
    Choose a difficulty
    Choose a Difficulty

Chapter 3

Controls

Use a keyboard and mouse, a controller or touch, and switch any time. Every key and button can be changed in Options › Controls.

ActionKeyboardControllerTouch
MoveWASD or arrow keysLeft stick or D-padDrag on your side of the screen
RecallQLBPink button
ForgetERBIndigo button
PauseP or EscStartEye button, top right
Aim (Manual aiming only)MouseRight stick–

Chapter 4

How a run works

Fight, collect, shop, repeat.

  1. 5

    Survive the wave

    Move to dodge; Pixel's tentacles attack on their own, each one at the nearest thought in range. The timer at the top counts down the wave: hold out until it ends.

    • Waves get longer as you go, from 10 seconds at wave 1 to 45 seconds by wave 20.
    • Pixel gains 1 max health at the start of every wave.
    • A banner at the bottom names any new kind of enemy as it arrives.
    Survive the wave
    Wave 7: Pixel in the middle of a crowd
  2. 6

    Collect memories

    Thoughts drop memory shards when they fall. Fly over them to collect them; the count sits under your health bar. Memories are what you spend in the shop.

    • Any memories still on the floor when a wave ends are collected for you, unless an Absent Mind stole them first.
  3. 7

    Use Recall and Forget

    Pixel's two special tentacles. Recall (pink) pulls every memory on the floor to you. Forget (indigo) makes the enemies around you lose track of you for a moment. Each has a cooldown, shown on its button.

    • False Memories look like shards until you get close; Recall never pulls them in.
    • Forget shakes off a Guilt that has latched on.
    Use Recall and Forget
    Recall and Forget lighting up the area they reach
  4. 8

    Shop between waves

    After each wave the shop offers four cards: weapons and items. Buy what you can afford, Reroll for new offers, then Start Wave.

    • Pixel can carry up to six weapons, one on each weapon tentacle.
    • Items come in three tiers, Lesser, normal and Greater, with bigger effects at higher prices.
    • Prices rise a little every wave, and a reroll costs more each wave.
    • Only Offer Cards I Can Afford (on by default) hides what you can't pay for yet.
    Shop between waves
    The shop after wave 2
  5. 9

    Lock a card for later

    Beating The Blackout gives you a Lock. In the shop, press the Lock icon, then a card: it stays through rerolls and comes back after the next wave, so you can save up for it.

    Lock a card for later
    A locked card in the shop
  6. 10

    Beat the bosses

    The Blackout arrives on wave 10 and The Unforgettable on wave 20. Beat each one before the wave timer runs out, or the run is over. If the boss is at half health or less when time runs out, you get 15 more seconds, once.

    Beat the bosses
    The Blackout, wave 10
  7. 11

    Pause any time

    Pause shows your run so far (time, kills, memories), your weapons and items, and Pixel's stats, with Resume, Options, Restart Run and Quit to Main Menu.

    Pause any time
    Paused

Chapter 5

Weapons

Nine weapons, each with its own way of fighting. Mix them across Pixel's six weapon tentacles.

Gaze BoltYour stare, weaponized. Reliable single shots.
Barbed LashShort reach, fast, cuts through crowds.
Ichor SpitA wet fan of three globs.
Dream NeedleTiny, rapid, long-range. Slips through one foe.
Tunnel VisionA steady beam locked on one thought. Melts the big ones, ignores the crowd.
Recurring DreamA crescent that flies out and comes back, cutting through everything both ways.
Train of ThoughtA spark that jumps from thought to thought, three times.
Rabbit HoleLobs an orb that opens a hole, pulling thoughts in and hurting all of them.
OutburstLobs a bomb that swells for a moment, then bursts, hurting every thought nearby.

Chapter 6

Items

Items change Pixel's stats for the rest of the run. Each comes as Lesser (half the effect), normal, or Greater (one and three-quarter times the effect). The numbers below are the normal tier.

Thick Eyelid+2 ArmorBlink harder.
Second Iris+12% DamageTwice the focus.
Racing Pulse+12% Attack SpeedSomething is beating faster.
Ink Sac+4 Max HPExtra substance.
Elongated Suckers+15% RangeReach a little further.
Weightless Drift+8% Move SpeedFloat like a bad dream.
Lodestone Memory+40 Pickup RangeMemories come to you.
Tear Ducts+0.5 HP Regen/sWeep, and mend.
Defense Mechanism+1 Shield OrbSomething to hide behind.
Glass Eye+25% Damage, -3 Max HPSharper, but fragile.

Chapter 7

Enemies

Pixel fights the thoughts that crowd a mind. A new kind arrives on most waves, gentlest first.

Stray ThoughtFrom wave 1Drifts toward you. Harmless alone, dangerous in crowds.
Fragmented ThoughtFrom wave 2Breaks into three small, fast fragments when it's destroyed.
Intrusive ThoughtFrom wave 3Fast and fragile. Arrives out of nowhere.
EarwormFrom wave 4Slithers toward you in a wide wave. Hard to shake, harder to aim at.
Repressed MemoryFrom wave 5Slow and heavy. Worth a lot of memories.
Deja VuFrom wave 6When hurt, it blinks to the mirror-image spot on your other side. Haven't you seen this before?
Panic AttackFrom wave 7Rushes you, swells up and bursts, hurting everything nearby. Kill it first or get clear.
Nagging DoubtFrom wave 8Keeps its distance and spits slow globs of doubt at you.
False MemoryFrom wave 9Looks exactly like a memory shard, until you get close. Watch for the red glint, and use Recall: fake memories can't come home.
Anxious SpiralFrom wave 10Circles you, winding tighter, then darts straight in.
Absent MindFrom wave 11Ignores you and steals memories off the floor. Kill it and it drops everything it took; Recall gets there first.
DenialFrom wave 12Its shield stops shots from the front until it cracks. Hit it from the side or behind; it turns slowly.
NightmareFrom wave 13Big, fast and never alone. Nightmares arrive in pairs.
Brain FogFrom wave 14Leaves patches of fog behind it. Inside the fog you move and attack slower.
GuiltFrom wave 15Latches on and slowly drains your health. Keep moving fast, use Forget, or kill it to shake it off.
HindsightFrom wave 16Keeps its distance, takes aim along a red line, then fires a beam down it. Step off the line.
RuminationFrom wave 17Slow, and keeps calling up Stray Thoughts until you deal with it.
Tip of the TongueFrom wave 18Nearly invisible until it's close, then it flickers into view and bites.

Chapter 8

Bosses

The BlackoutBossWave 10. Swoops, sends swarms of static moths, and puts out the lights around you. Beat it before time runs out.
The UnforgettableBossWave 20. Charges, sprays shards of memory, and calls other thoughts to it. Beat it before time runs out.

Chapter 9

Difficulty levels

Win a level to unlock the next. Levels stack: each keeps everything below it.

LevelWhat changes
Level 0The base game.
Level 1Enemies hit 25% harder.
Level 2Enemies have 12% more HP and arrive 15% faster.
Level 3Elite thoughts appear from wave 4: bigger, tougher, worth more.
Level 4Elites are twice as common. HP regeneration is 40% weaker.
Level 5Both bosses are tougher: 40% more health, and they attack more often.

Chapter 10

Collection and options

  1. 12

    Collection

    Every weapon, item and enemy you've met, with their stats, plus your Run History and Records (runs played and won, best wave, thoughts defeated and more).

    <span class="ui">Collection</span>
    The Collection: enemies
  2. 13

    Options

    Audio, display, controls, gameplay and accessibility.

    • Aiming: Automatic (each tentacle fires at the nearest thought) or Manual (all tentacles fire where you aim with the mouse or right stick).
    • Touch: the joystick's side and size, and haptics.
    • Accessibility: reduce flashing, a bigger interface, and a colorblind mode.
    • Music: volume, mute, and the Now Playing card.

Chapter 11

Tips

Keep movingYour tentacles aim for you. Spend your attention on dodging, and circle the edge of a crowd rather than cutting through it.
Recall beats the thievesAbsent Minds steal memories off the floor. A quick Recall gets to them first, and it never pulls in a False Memory.
Save ForgetForget gets you out of trouble: a crowd closing in, a Panic Attack about to burst, or Guilt draining you.
Plan for the bossesBosses must be beaten in time. Some single-target damage, like Tunnel Vision or Gaze Bolt, helps a lot at waves 10 and 20.