The Highrise

The Highrise is a first-person survival game set in a high-rise sealed off by an invasion of alien monsters. After the monsters emerge from underground and devastate the Earth, you must gather resources, craft weapons and survival tools, and send a rescue signal to escape.

Search the high-rise

The building’s shopping malls, offices and residences were once crowded, familiar places. Now their emptiness makes them threatening. Its spaces are inspired by real skyscrapers, with vacant or omitted areas kept to a minimum.

You begin near the top, where the last survivors have stayed to avoid the monsters. You used to be a linker, connecting them to the food court in the basement, and can use that knowledge to explore lower floors. Deeper levels offer more resources and more efficient ways to gather them, but the monsters grow stronger and more numerous as you approach the ground. You may also find clues that help you escape.

Avoid the sniffers

The sniffers that drove humanity to extinction have highly developed hearing and smell. They can detect small movements, coughing and even stomach gurgles; loud sounds, such as breaking glass or a fall from a great height, draw them to you. You can sneak past monsters or craft weapons to fight them, choosing tools suited to combat or infiltration.

The ventilation system connects the building’s floors and rooms and is the only safe zone from groups of monsters. Learning its layout and routes is important to navigating the building.

Gather and craft

You must manage hunger and thirst, while taking care to avoid food poisoning, which can make survivors more likely to be pursued by sniffers. You can break down most of the building’s furniture for resources, using tools suited to each material for more efficient gathering. Craft and install equipment such as a still to purify dirty water, a cooktop to boil food and a workbench for making survival tools.

There are six playable characters, each with different stats and passive skills. In multiplayer, the game adjusts its balance according to the number of players.

Game modes

The game supports single-player and multiplayer for up to four players, or up to eight in Custom mode. Its three modes offer different survival rules:

• Sandbox mode: infinite lives and resources that respawn.
• Survival mode: limited resources and one life.
• Custom mode: configure options to set the difficulty you want.