Play Green Ember | Videogame Demo
Green Ember: Helmer in the Dragon Tomb production is moving right along and we’re happy to announce that a FREE demo version of the video game is available to play!
The demo gives you a chance to step into Helmer’s world and experience Green Ember like never before.
If you have questions about how to get your demo experience set up, check out our FAQs right here.
We’d love to know what you think! If you’re willing and able, leave some feedback for us here.
What a delight! I was so pleased with this entire demo, from the controls to the beautiful graphics. After filling the wagon with carrots (I was surprised 3 was enough), I accidentally unloaded a carrot from the wagon, then in the process of trying to put it back, took all of the other carrots out. So I felt bad for in-game Helmer’s father whose carrots were all over the floor, but after finding the sword, I quickly forgot my carrot guilt. Having a sword really drew me into the world for some reason, and the story quickly advanced after that as well. I had a lot of fun making my way through the next part of the story and found myself physically grinning as the world of the Green Ember came to life before my eyes and at the touch of my fingers. The Nightwalkers appearing in the forest as I hurried back to the farm very much increased my heart rate as I worried for my–sorry, Helmer’s sister and father. I also liked that there was a natural stopping point as we moved to imprisonment. Of course, it was pratically a cliffhanger, so I continued onward, but it would have been easy to set a limit for a younger child that they could play through Chapters 1 and 2 today, then 3 and 4 tomorrow, or something of the sort. After breaking out of the cell and into the mines, I only hit one technical issue–I managed to jump over some invisible boundaries. I made it over a mine wall to the other side; the room with a nightwalker and a chest containing extra stamina. I was then locked in, as the only door didn’t open from the back. I had to reset to the last checkpoint. That’s the only “bug” I ran into the whole time.
The character design is wonderful and the environment is thoughtfully crafted. I never felt overstimulated of course, and the detail and the beauty put into this world just made me so happy. The music is nice, though it got slightly repetitive in the mines as I ran myself in circles a few times trying not to die without a weapon.
Thank you S.D. Smith, Longtreader Games, and the whole dev team! Overall, 5 out of 5 stars, and I can’t wait to play the full version!
Thanks for playing!
It was amazing! I am dying to get my hands on the whole game, the demo itself was fun and full of action! The graphics and controls were all so smooth and quick, I took down all the enemies in seconds.
Thank you SO MUCH S.D. Smith for making a way for me to adventure!
The graphics look great, but I don’t get very far in the game without it crashing. It crashes even when I do small things, like picking up a carrot or hitting the button for Helmer to dash. My Dad checked, and our PC has more than what’s required for the game to run properly.
Does anyone else have this happen? How can I troubleshoot it? I was really looking forward to playing.
Thank you!
try going into setting and lowering the graphics and quality, still looks great even at low graphics!
Thanks so much for your comment and for giving the demo a try! We’re sorry to hear about the crashes — that sounds frustrating.
A good first step is to check our FAQ to make sure everything’s aligned with your setup. If it seems like the issue could be on Steam’s side, their support team has some good troubleshooting resources as well. https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/29A6-F529-F956-6292
If you’re still running into problems, could you share the details through our feedback form? That way we’ll have the system info and steps needed to dig deeper: https://longtreadergames.com/game-feedback/
We really appreciate your help making the game better.
Mike, I had the same issue. Did you get yours figured out? I lowered the resolution on the game and played with all those settings, but the game still crashed. On some settings it was just black and didn’t even load any graphics. Some worked for a few seconds but crashed every time.
I love the game! the graphics are great and it runs smoothly.
but i found some weird things. like being able to walk on nothing
https://medal.tv/games/requested/clips/l5IdApSNrUdT8qlnJ?invite=cr-MSxBUlAsMzU3OTM1MjY1&v=30
What’s weird about that? Ha!
What fun! Our family has loved Helmer for years and it was delightful to see him come to life in this game. The engaging story and whimsical graphics drew us in right away. Gameplay was difficult enough to keep it engaging for older kids, but not too hard for my 7yo, who was glad for the frequent checkpoints. When we first tried it, we used a keyboard, which was frustrating. We bought a more traditional game controller, and the experience was much better.
We ran into some technical issues when we tried to save the game, and several times we were not able to retrieve a saved game. One time, the saved game loaded with a glitch that allowed us to walk through walls.
As huge Green Ember fans, we had only one objection: the character design for Aerin. We were not expecting Aerin to be lavender-colored and helpless looking. In the books, all the rabbits have real-rabbit colored fur, and Helmer describes his sister as spunky and brave, “ten times as ornery as I” and “full of fire.” (Ember Rising, Chapter 6) Even if she doesn’t get any additional screentime, I’d love to see that Aerin.
That being said, the development team has done a fantastic job. We can’t wait to play the full version (and read the book!)
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughtful feedback and for diving into the demo with your family! We’re glad to hear the story, checkpoints, and controller experience made the game fun across ages.
We can’t wait for you to experience the full version — and we think you’ll love the upcoming book, too!
My son has been enjoying this demo! So many fun things! We haven’t purchased a controller yet so we were just trying to use the keyboard but we can’t find the key. When I click on the controls in the menu in only shows the controller options and nothing happened when I click keyboard. I’m planning to buy a controller still but in the meantime is there a way to access the keyboard controls key? Thanks!
Thank you Mary. So glad your son enjoys the demo. The game is really made for a controller. Still, while playing the game with a keyboard might feel a little like playing on hard mode, it is possible.
Here is the keyboard scheme:
Movement: WASD
Jump: Space
Dodge: Right Mouse Button
Neutral Light Attack: Left Mouse Button
Neutral Heavy Attack: Shift + Left Left Mouse Button
Neutral Special Attack: Shift + Right Left Mouse Button
Aerial Light Attack: Space -> Left Mouse Button
Aerial Heavy Attack: Space -> Shift + Left Mouse Button
Aerial Special Attack: Space -> Shift + Right Mouse Button
Forward Light Attack: WASD + Left Mouse Button
Forward Heavy Attack: WASD + Shift + Left Mouse Button
Forward Special Attack: WASD + Shift + Right Mouse Button
Fire Bow: Left Control
Shield: Q
Lock ON/OFF: Middle Mouse Button
Switch Targets: Scroll Wheel
Grab/Talk/Interact: HOLD Left Mouse Button (while facing item)
Drop: Right Mouse Button (while holding item)
Item Throw: Left Mouse Button (while holding item)
Heal: 1
Pause: Escape
Good luck!
It’s so cool! My sister and I and our dad have all played it. The graphics are super well done. The music is awesome! I just love the soundtrack so far! The puzzle/fighting combination is well-constructed and a great way to make the game unique, fun, challenging, and realistic. (Same with the health-and-stamina fighting feature. Realistically, you may be fine health-wise, but you can’t fight indefinately.) Helmer is an awesome character in The Gree Ember series and a game and book dedicated to him is super cool! So excited for the book release!
Great game! The controls and graphics were spot on! I can’t wait till it’s released!
Thank you so much for putting this together! My eldest son, age 11, LOVES the Green Ember Series. This summer he quickly read the entire series and couldn’t stop talking about it. When I showed him the demo he said that the game looked a lot like the book. “The game kept on glitching but the controls were good.” He liked how he kept Helmer’s attitude in the beginning of the game. Other than that he says that he can’t wait for the next book and the game! Thank you so much for creating this series, my youngest son, who prefers to read graphic novels, has been enjoying reading these chapter books without much prompting. We are S.D. Smith fans!