District Runner

Curfew is in effect. The city is watching. Run anyway.

District Runner is a top-down twin-stick shooter set in a rain-soaked surveillance city. Survive waves of drones and riot police, install an augment after every wave, and push deeper into districts that fight harder the further you go. Play it right here in your browser, or download it for Windows and Linux.

Pick your runner

Four runners, four ways to play. The Runner keeps it steady with an SMG. The Breaker carries a shotgun and shoulder-charges through anything in the way. The Glitch fires a pistol whose shots bank off walls and cover. The Wraith is fast and fragile, with a rail rifle that goes through a whole line of enemies. Only the Runner is open at first; the others unlock at milestones.

The city fights back

Seven kinds of enemy, each needing a different answer. Shoot bomb seekers early and their blast takes out their friends. Wardens deflect bullets from the front, so get behind them. Break a sniper's laser line with cover before it fires. Kill carriers before they fill the air with drones.

Three districts

Each district has its own layout, enemy mix and rewards, and the next one opens when you go deep enough into the last.

Between waves

• Augments: after each wave, choose one of three, including Split Shot, Rail Rounds, Shock Dash and Overclock. They stack on top of your runner's weapon.
• The Safehouse: every run earns INTEL, however it ends. Spend it on permanent perks: more armor, a fourth upgrade card, rerolls, prototype augments.
• A dash that makes you untouchable: slip through bullets and bodies.
• Night lighting and rain, with a synth soundtrack that kicks in when a wave starts.

Controls

	Keyboard + mouse	Gamepad
Move	WASD	Left stick
Aim	Mouse	Right stick
Shoot	Hold left mouse	R2 (or push the right stick fully)
Dash	Space / right mouse	A or L2
Pause	Esc	Start

Gamepads work out of the box, including on the Steam Deck. In the browser, click the game once so it gets your keyboard and its sound.

Platforms

Play in the browser, or download for Windows or Linux. Your progress is saved separately on each one: in the browser it lives in your browser's storage, so clearing site data resets it.

The Windows build isn't code-signed. If SmartScreen warns you, choose "More info", then "Run anyway".

About

District Runner is an experiment in how much of a game an AI can build. Almost all of the code, pixel art and music was made with Claude, an AI model from Anthropic. It's made with the Bevy engine in Rust. It's still in development, so expect changes and rough edges. Feedback is very welcome in the comments.