Planned Release Date: Nov 16, 2026

About This Game

Two pilots. One sky. Every chain is an attack.

Lantern Duel is a head-to-head shooter. You and your rival fly side by side above the cloud sea, each in your own field. Shoot the drifting clouds to set off chain reactions, and every chain you make launches an attack straight into your rival's sky. They can dodge it, or blast it back at you bigger. Then it's your turn.

Build longer chains to send heavier attacks, keep your own sky clear, and land the blow that knocks your rival out of the Lantern Cup.

Attack your rival

• Chains become attacks. Every chain you set off fires Sparks over the top and into your rival's field. The longer the chain, the more you send.

• Send it back, bigger. Shoot an incoming Spark to return it a size up (Sparks become Flares, Flares become Blazes), and a rally can swing back and forth until someone cracks.

• Special Strikes. Charge up to launch your pilot's own Special Strike into the other field: Paper Cranes, a Skip Shot, a Meteor Shower, a Tadpole Swarm and more.

• Champions. Fill your gauge to Level 3, or catch three of your rival's returns in one combo, and a giant Champion flies into their sky: the Kite Dragon, the Ghost Galleon, the Sunbird, the Leviathan, the Frog King and more.

• Charge Shots. Every pilot has a Charge Shot of their own to tear through the clouds: rockets, lightning, a stone fist, a flock of crows, a breaching whale.

• Fever, Perfects and the Storm. Catch a Fever Orb for double Sparks, clear a whole formation for a Perfect, and if the duel drags on, the Storm rolls in. Wait too long and the Reaper arrives.

Duel anyone

• Local Versus: two players on one screen, with two controllers, a keyboard and a controller, or one shared keyboard. Handicaps and a running session score.

• Online with Steam friends: invite them, join their games, or find an open match. Rollback netcode keeps every duel responsive.

• Versus CPU: five difficulty levels, from Easy to Expert+.

The Sky Tour

Five floating islands, one map. Fly the routes between 45 stages of duels, challenges, gauntlets and shrines, with a boss waiting at the end of every island. Each stage has star objectives to earn. Collect 120 stars to open new islands, unlock pilots and win 12 Charms that change how you fly.

More ways to fly

• Arcade: an eight-duel ladder with story scenes and a rival for every pilot, ending against the Warden atop the Lantern Spire. Four difficulty levels, and a hidden final duel for those who fly well enough to find it.

• Endless Storm: hold out against the Storm Engine for as long as you can.

• Daily Flight: one run a day, with the same seed, pilot and modifier for everyone.

• Training: practice dummies, hitboxes, and every attack on demand.

15 pilots, each with a trick of their own

A courier on a paper plane, a sky pirate on a barrel rocket, a moss golem, a lamplighter, a crow rider, a cloud spirit, a clockwork tinker, a salamander, a tin cat, a whale rider, a mime, a frog prince, an owl astronomer, a very small knight, and the Warden, if you can earn them.

Each pilot has their own shot, Charge Shot, Special Strike and Champion. The newest six bring traits of their own, and some attack sideways, straight through the wall between the fields.

Built to keep you flying

• Pilot mastery, up to level 20 for every pilot.

• 45 feats to earn, every one a Steam achievement.

• Records, personal bests, a replay of your best Endless Storm run, and a gallery.

• An original soundtrack, with Storm layers that swell in as a duel heats up.

• Classic one-button or Modern controls, fully remappable on keyboards and controllers.

• Accessibility options: screen shake and flash reduction, tier shapes, high-contrast outlines, background brightness and HUD opacity.

The Lantern Cup above the cloud sea. Light the lanterns. Win the Cup.