Light the torches
The Mist hunts the light. Keep the road lit, send your Torchbearer to relight what the Thurifers snuff out, and remember that a tower in the dark can't see.
A game by Lone Torch Games
The fog hides the horde. Light the torches, clear the path and hold the line, wave after wave.
Genre Roguelike tower defensePlatform PC (Steam)Status In development
Trailer
Watch the fog roll in
The game
If your torch doesn't light it, it isn't there
Push back the fog
Grow the map from terrain drafts and follow the glow in the fog to the people the Mist left behind.
Hold the line
Ever larger waves, champions like Ser Aldric the Anvil, bosses like Sir Roderic, and the Commander's orders and powers to turn the fight around.
Your defenses
Every tower has a trade
Mix range, area damage and crowd control to cover every stretch of the path.
Archer
rapid shotsBallista
heavy boltsCatapult
area damageFire Mage
burns up closeFrost Mage
freezes and slowsArcane Mage
marks targets
Mana Obelisk
feeds the powersScreenshots
From the watchtower
About the game
The Long Watch
You just arrived. The old Commander knows why the fort is here. Go ahead, ask him: he didn’t tell the last captain either.
The Long Watch is a roguelike tower defense where the map itself tells the story. Every wave, you push the mist back one stretch of road with your light — and the road decides where the horde advances, where your towers stand, and what you’ll find out there.
The map narrates
No two watches are alike. Choose how the road grows from a draft of terrain shapes, discover mana veins, barrels and ruins under the fog, and stumble into the people the Mist left behind: a besieged camp, a graveyard with five green flames, a village with its lights still on. Every event is a deal. Failing one doesn’t end the run — it makes the world stranger.
Light is territory
Clearing the road isn’t enough: you have to keep it lit. Every new stretch comes with its torches, and torches hold the Mist back; the enemy sends Thurifers to snuff them out, and a tower in the dark can’t see. Your Torchbearer relights them and plants the few spare torches he carries. A handful of trips each wave he makes on sheer courage; for the rest you’ll have to bribe him with gold. Don’t worry, he almost never says no: he loves gold.
The Commander’s orders
Every few waves the old Commander pins up a report with three orders, drawn from what your map can actually offer: keep the gate shut for three waves, build with a single school, keep every torch burning until the boss arrives, reach the camp before its beacon dies. Accept one and the other two burn — or carry on without orders. The wave doesn’t wait while you decide.
Fulfil it and the watch pays you back: an epic card, more health, gold, mana, extra trips for the Torchbearer. Lose it and it’s crossed out, with the reason, and the next report brings one order fewer. After a defeat, the first report may carry a note in the previous captain’s hand: what killed him, and what you get for paying it back.
Six defenses, two doctrines each
Archer, ballista, catapult, arcane mage, fire mage, frost mage — plus the Mana Obelisk, which drains the veins to feed the Commander’s powers. Every tower grows stronger as it fights and has two opposing doctrines: stilettos or fire arrows, mark or detonate, freeze solid or shatter shields. Pick blueprints and upgrades from the armorer between waves, temper your steel, and build a different arsenal every run.
Three acts, one long watch
Act I — Farpost. The hill, the palisade, the mist. Thirty-five waves, three bosses, the people the Mist left behind, and one crack under the hill that does not close.
Act II — Lowgate. The town at the foot of the castle. Two roads, two hordes, drums in the dark. Towers that break and must be repaired, new defenses to raise, a witch who sells cards for blood, and a siege that hits the gate itself.
Act III — The Courtyard. Inside the castle walls, where the watch began. Everything you learned, against everything that was waiting.
And the watch is only beginning: The Long Watch is still in development, with a lot more content yet to come out of the mist.
- Procedural, player-drafted maps
- Fog, torches and darkness as core mechanics
- The Commander’s orders: pick one of three, every few waves
- Three watches to choose how much it hurts: First Light, The Long Watch and Dead of Night
- Layered enemies: shield, armor, life — every tower hits each layer differently
- Bosses and champions, each with their story in the Bestiary
- Permanent progression at the Workshop between watches
- Voiced in English, with text and subtitles in thirteen languages
FAQ
Questions from the palisade
What kind of game is The Long Watch?
A roguelike tower defense where the map itself tells the story. Every wave you push the Mist back one stretch of road, choose how the road grows, light its torches and hold the line against ever larger waves. No two watches are alike.
When does it come out, and on what platforms?
The Long Watch is in development for PC on Steam. The release date is still to be announced. Add it to your Steam wishlist and Steam will tell you the moment it's out.
Is there a demo?
Yes. The free demo is out on Steam, with the first twenty waves of Act I, Sir Roderic waiting at the end, the three watches, the Commander's orders, the bestiary and the full set of languages. Everyone who plays it gets rewards that carry over to the full game.
What carries over from the demo to the full game?
Beat the demo and you keep the Dawn Flame, a pale blue torch cursor, and the title "of the First Watch" next to your name. Your achievements are recorded with their date, and there are more gifts waiting in the full game for anyone who played. The Demo Season in the world ranking also has a surprise for the captain who finishes at the top.
How does the fog work?
Light is territory. Each new stretch of road comes with its torches, and torches hold the Mist back. The enemy sends Thurifers to snuff them out, and a tower in the dark can't see. Your Torchbearer relights them and plants the few spare torches he carries.
What makes every run different?
You draft the road from terrain shapes, so the map is different every time. Under the fog you find mana veins, ruins and the people the Mist left behind, and every event is a deal you can win or lose. Between waves the armorer offers blueprints, upgrades and two opposing doctrines per tower, and the Commander pins up three orders every few waves. Between watches the Workshop keeps your permanent progression.
How hard is it?
You choose your watch before you start. First Light is a clear road for learning the fort. The Long Watch is the way it's meant to be played. Dead of Night is for captains who want it to hurt, and it pays the highest score multiplier in the world ranking.
What languages does it speak?
English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean. The voices are in English, with text and subtitles in your language. The game starts in your system's language and you can change it in Settings.
How long is the full game?
Three acts, one long watch. Act I is Farpost, thirty-five waves and three bosses on the hill. Act II is Lowgate, the town at the foot of the castle, with two roads and two hordes. Act III is the Courtyard, inside the walls, where the watch began.
How can I follow development or help?
Add the game to your Steam wishlist, which is the biggest help a small studio can get, join us on Discord to share your runs, and read the devlogs in our news. Press and creators can find everything in the press kit.
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