The Red Thread

Your partner is your weapon

Co-op partners are tied together by a glowing red thread. It is not decoration: it fights for you.

Two heroes tied by a red thread fighting bamboo spooks in a locked room of the Bamboo Thicket

🧵 ClotheslineA taut thread damages and trips any enemy that crosses it. Run past each other and sweep the room.

🪝 ReelPull your partner to you, or drag a downed partner to safety and bring them back.

🏹 SlingshotAnchor on your partner and fling yourself through a line of enemies.

✨ ResonanceWhen both thread meters are full, trigger a shared ultimate. Playing alone? A friendly spirit holds the other end of the thread.

The heroes

Four festival-goers, four ways to fight

All four are playable in the beta. Pick your hero, then pick your partner.

DAIGOOni Blacksmith · Bruiser / tank

Swings an iron kanabo the size of a door. Slams the ground, tosses anvils, laughs a lot.

SUZUShrine Archer · Ranged / control

Never misses a festival game. Shoots fast, pins hordes with paper seals.

HINOKOKitsune Sorceress · Area damage

A fox spirit who thinks every problem is solved with more fire. She is usually right.

KAGEFestival Ninja · Fast melee

Runs the ring-toss stall by day. By night, also runs the ring-toss stall, but faster.

Province 1

The Bamboo Thicket

Every year the Moon Lantern Festival renews the red threads that tie friends together. This year Lord Kinbukuro snipped them to sell as "luck charms". He missed one: yours.

🎋 Five floorsEach floor is a freshly generated maze of rooms. Rooms lock, waves arrive, doors open when you win. Find keys, chests, traps and loot on the way.

🎋 Takezo the Bamboo BruiserThe mini-boss. "Kinbukuro pays me in bamboo shoots. I LOVE bamboo shoots."

🪙 Captain Koban, Coin CollectorThe Province 1 boss. "Admission to this fight is 500 coins."

🦝 Lord KinbukuroThe coin-mad tanuki villain. He heckles you the whole way; you will meet him properly in later provinces.

Captain Koban, the Coin Collector boss, in a boss arena

Co-op

One keyboard, two gamepads, or just you

The Tea House hub where heroes are chosen and gear is upgraded at the Forge

👥 1–2 players, localShare one keyboard, use two gamepads, or mix. A second player can drop in during a run.

🏮 Tea House hubBetween runs, upgrade your gear at the Forge. The Forge shows its offers up front: no gambling.

🌐 Online co-opPlanned for later. In the beta, co-op is on one screen.

Controls

Easy to learn

Move, attack, dodge, and tug the thread. Plug in a gamepad any time.

Controls for each input device
Action	Player 1 keyboard	Player 2 keyboard	Gamepad
Move	W A S D	Arrow keys	Left stick / d-pad
Attack (hold to charge)	J	Numpad 1	X
Charm	K	Numpad 2	Y
Thread (tap reel, hold slingshot)	L	Numpad 3	B
Dodge	Space	Numpad 0	A
Resonance	I	Numpad 5	RB
Swap weapon	Q	Numpad 4	LB
Pause	Esc	Numpad Enter	Start

No numpad? Player 2 can use . , / \ ' for attack, charm, thread, dodge and Resonance. Player 1's gamepad is the first one connected.

Beta roadmap

Coming next (plans, not promises)

KNOTBOUND is in development. These are what we want to build; order and timing can change.

🗺️ More provincesBamboo Thicket is Province 1. More provinces and bosses are planned.

🌐 Online co-opPlay with a friend who is not on your couch.

🦊 More heroesAdditional heroes with their own ways to use the thread.

📱 Touch / phoneOn-screen controls and phone-friendly menus.

🎨 Art and sound passHero-specific weapons, folklore enemy looks, more effects and music.

⚖️ BalanceDifficulty is our best guess right now. Tell us if it is too easy or too hard.

🌙 Free to play during the beta

Things will change; your feedback shapes it. KNOTBOUND is a working title and a work in progress. Saved progress may be reset between updates.

System note: a desktop or laptop browser is recommended. The first load is about 20 MB, so give it a moment. Phones and touch screens are not supported yet.

▶ Play free in your browser

Feedback

Tell us what you think

Found a bug, a too-hard room, or a hero you love? Email support@moonlitronin.com with the subject "KNOTBOUND beta feedback". What you tell us decides what we build next.