Marrow

Marrow is a 2D action-adventure game set in a burial site beneath a menacing mountain. You search its depths for your lost friends, who are calling for help, while facing puzzles, platforming, combat and navigation challenges. A rotted town, crypt and manor conceal deeper horrors that have decayed beneath the mud and rock for countless years.

The mountain's secret

The burial site was built to hide the devices and cosmic crimes of those who once occupied the hilltop, now broken and mangled within the mountain. Its hollows are filled with the screeches and bellows of former inhabitants: shades and abominations who uncovered noxious truths through their experiments. Some attack intruders, while spirits seeking redemption may guide you. You face the mountain’s imprisoned secret and the chance to free its inhabitants from their sins.

The Orphans are lost in the mountain. When you are near them, you can hear them chanting a familiar song shared by you and your friends. Follow the withering melody and return the children to the mountaintop, to the house on the hill. The ending depends on more than defeating the final boss: you can save your friends or suffer a fate worse than theirs.

Explore and survive

You leap, crawl, slash and blast through handcrafted areas. The world is not random or procedurally generated, and its dozens of enemy types each have their own quirks and weaknesses. You can avoid enemies or confront them with the small number of usable blades and relics left in the mountain. Numerous bosses, some optional, stand between you and its secret.

Search the dark corners to increase your Grit (vitality) and Clarity (magic), and learn skills such as Pyro-burst and Grit Regain. Use the last Luminous Orb to create tones, defend against attacks and solve riddles. Light torches and braziers to see, and blast from spot to spot using Orbital Anchors. Medallions found in the depths help illuminate the way; without them, you may be nearly blind.

Enter the Fissures to reach the Echo Realm and explore from a different perspective, with new dangers at the edge of normal perception. The world is persistent: defeated enemies stay defeated until you activate a Save Point, which revives them. Bosses do not return. You can go back to heal and face those enemies again, or press on into the unknown.

Save points and rites

The SEND ME BACK rite warps you to the last save room, which can help if you find an item while low on health. Using it after the Bell has rung may be fatal and cost you your progress.

Post-game modes

Finishing the game under any condition unlocks Echo Mode and Survival Mode. You can also play both modes at once.

• Echo Mode: view the entire game as if you are in the Echo Realm.
• Survival Mode: try to finish the game with a set number of lives. After your last life, the game resets and saves, so you must start over. Your friends remain safe, and dolls they leave where they were hiding serve as extra lives. The goal is to defeat the final boss as quickly as possible and earn your best score.