Cozy Arcade
Firefly Hollow
Keep the lantern glowing: catch fireflies, read the path in your light, and walk as deep into the hollow as the glow allows.
What you do
Firefly Hollow is a night walk through a 3D forest with a scarf-wearing raccoon and its lantern. The lantern's glow is your light and your life at once, and darkness is the game: a small light makes the path ahead harder to read, so keeping the lantern bright makes everything easier, and chasing a cluster of fireflies into the dark is a real gamble. Fireflies shine on their own, so you can always spot them. Owls, mud, bends and late root walls with a single gap join the path as you walk deeper, past seven named glades from Fern Hollow to the Hollow itself.
How to play
- Press Play. The raccoon walks the forest path by itself; you steer it left and right. Its lantern's glow is your light and your life: it fades all the time, and the walk ends when it goes out.
- Steer into fireflies to catch them. Each one brightens the lantern, so you see farther ahead.
- Roots, stumps and brambles dim the lantern sharply. Past the edge of your light they show only as faint outlines, so read ahead and steer around them.
- Mud slows your steering and the brush beside the path snags your lantern. On bends the path nudges you outward.
- When an owl hoots, a ring on the path marks where it will swoop. Step out of the ring before it strikes.
- Flare spends a little glow to light the whole path ahead for a moment, and scares off a swooping owl.
- Catch 10 fireflies in a row without a bump to raise the glow chain (up to x4). Reach glades for stars: arriving bright earns more.
Controls
- Touch: drag left or right anywhere on the path, or press and hold on one side. Tap the Flare button at the bottom right to light the path ahead.
- Mouse: the raccoon follows the cursor, with no button to hold. Click anywhere on the path to flare the lantern.
- Keyboard: hold the Left and Right arrows or A and D to steer. Space or F flares the lantern.
- After a walk: choose Walk again or Title on the results card.
- Shared toolbar: pause, restart, sound, help and fullscreen.
Tips worth knowing
- A bump costs as much light as six or more fireflies, so passing beside a cluster beats charging through a bramble for it.
- Fireflies just behind a stump or bramble are bait: swing around the hazard first, then drift back in.
- A bigger glow means more time to react. When the light gets small, play safe until a cluster brings it back.
- Flare when the light is small and the path ahead is busy, or when an owl's ring traps you between hazards.
- Keep a glow chain going: at x2 and above each firefly gives more light as well as more points.
- Glades share some light. Arrive with 60% glow or more for three stars.
Accessibility
- Steer with touch, a mouse or the keyboard. Keys work while the path has focus, which it takes when a walk starts.
- The lantern meter shows the glow as a bar and a percentage, and pulses when the light is low.
- Hazards have their own shapes, and owls give a sound and a ring on the path before they swoop.
- Pause freezes the walk completely, and a new walk only starts from the Walk again button.
- Glades, bumps and the end of a walk are announced to screen readers. Reduced motion turns off screen shake. Sound is never required.
Questions
Can I play Firefly Hollow on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Drag or hold on the path to steer and tap the Flare button. It plays upright or sideways, with keyboard and mouse controls on a computer.
Does Firefly Hollow save my progress?
Yes. Your best score, farthest walk, most fireflies, longest glow chain and stars at each glade are saved in this browser on this device. A best score from the earlier lane-runner version is kept and shown on the title screen as your classic best.
