Heavy Hands
+20% damage and knockback With 3: +73% damage and knockback
A free martial-arts brawler in your browser
Splinter Kick is a free physics fighting game you play straight from your web browser. There is nothing to download and no account to make: open the page, type a name if you like, and you are in a live yard full of martial artists trading punches, kicks, throws and sword cuts. Every fighter is a jointed, physically simulated body, so a clean roundhouse sends someone spinning to the floor, a sweep takes their legs out from under them, and a thrown opponent tumbles as a real ragdoll.
The game is inspired by the hand-to-hand combat of Wolfire Games' Overgrowth, where timing and reading your opponent matter more than mashing buttons. Strikes have a visible wind-up, blocks must be timed, and every throw can be countered. It is easy to pick up in a minute and has a lot of depth once you learn to read the fight.
Two ways to play
Multiplayer: the online yard
Press Multiplayer on the home screen to jump into the shared online arena. Up to 40 fighters share one yard, and when there are fewer people online, bots fill the gaps so there is always someone to fight. The scoreboard tracks kill streaks: whoever holds the longest current streak wears the crown, and everyone else wants to take it from them. Weapons lie around the yard to be picked up, and every now and then a very unusual guest named John Fister wanders in. You can chat with the rest of the yard by pressing Enter.
Singleplayer: the roguelite arena
Press Singleplayer for a run through the roguelite arena. Each round sends a new pack of opponents at you, and they get tougher as you go: their belts darken from white through yellow, orange, green, blue and brown to black, and better fighters block more, follow up faster and hit harder. Runs are endless: there is no final round, only how far you get. Weapons join the fight from round 4, and every third round is fought over beds of spikes. Your best round is saved in your browser, so you always have a record to beat.
Items that change the fight
Clear a round and you choose one of three items, and everything you pick stacks for the rest of the run. Items come in five rarities. Common items sharpen the basics: harder hits, faster hands, tougher skin, a chance to zap or set alight whoever you strike. Rare items add chain lightning that arcs between enemies, shockwaves when you land a jump, blades that come back after you throw them and counter-blasts when you block perfectly. Epic items change how you fight: flying kicks that land like meteors, lightning called down on every third blow, burning ground, frost that shatters frozen enemies, and blows that strike twice. Legendary items define a run, like a shadow clone that fights beside you, a phoenix that brings you back from a knockout, throws that detonate in lightning and perfect blocks that slow time. Cursed items give huge power at a real price. Effects can set off other effects, so a single punch can snowball into a chain reaction across the arena.
From round 3 some enemies are elites, glowing with fire, lightning or frost that their blows pass on to you. Beat an elite and it drops an item orb. Every fifth round a champion with two elemental powers leads a smaller pack; beating one drops two orbs and guarantees a legendary in your next choice. Every item you have ever found is kept in a collection log in the pause menu. See every item below.
You can switch between the two modes at any time from the pause menu (press Esc), or pick one from the home screen.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard and mouse | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Move | W A S D | Move relative to the camera. Hold Ctrl to walk. |
| Look | Mouse | Turn the camera. The fight captures the mouse; Esc lets it go and pauses. |
| Attack | Left click or J | Strike. Which strike you throw depends on distance, movement and stance. |
| Block | Right click or K | Block an incoming strike. Hold it next to someone to grab and throw them. |
| Jump | Space | Jump. Attack in the air for a flying kick. |
| Crouch and roll | Shift or C | Crouch, roll while moving, flip in the air, or roll back up out of a fall. |
| Weapon | E | Pick up a weapon, or throw the one you are holding. |
| Chat | Enter | Say something to the yard (multiplayer). |
| Hide controls | H | Show or hide the controls panel. |
On phones and tablets, the controls are as simple as they get: a stick under your left thumb to move, drag anywhere else to look, and just two buttons, HIT and BLOCK. A third button appears only when there is a weapon to pick up or throw, and you roll back to your feet after a fall by yourself.
The moves
Splinter Kick picks your strike from the situation instead of asking you to memorise combos. Standing your ground, you throw kicks: a front kick or a roundhouse at range, a knee or an uppercut up close. On the move you throw a spinning kick or a side kick that shoves people into walls, and when you close in fast your hands take over with a jab, cross and hook. Press attack again to chain into the next strike in the string.
- Low attacks: crouch and attack for a leg sweep or a low kick to the calf that knocks the legs out sideways.
- Flying kick: attack in the air for a two-footed leg cannon, the hardest-hitting blow in the game.
- Throws: hold block beside an opponent to grab them and throw them over your hip. Time it right when you are grabbed and you can counter the throw.
- Rolls and flips: roll out of the way of a kick, flip in the air, and roll back to your feet after a fall to avoid being stomped.
Weapons
Three weapons turn up in the yard and in later arena rounds. The knife is quick, cuts deep and can be thrown. The sword has long reach, slashes and thrusts, can block, and can also be thrown. The staff does not cut, but it hits hard, keeps people at a distance and blocks well. Blades leave real wounds that bleed, and a strong enough stroke can take a limb off. Thrown weapons stick where they land, and if you press block at the right moment as one flies at you, you snatch it out of the air.
Blocking, guard and getting hurt
Blocking is about timing: press block as a strike comes in and you stop it on your guard, leaving the attacker open for a moment. Each block wears your guard down, and a guard that breaks leaves you stunned, so you cannot simply turtle. Hits are physical: a punch to the head lands harder than a kick to the hip, very hard blows to the head daze you with blurred, swaying vision for a few seconds, and fighters bruise, bleed and get worn down as a fight goes on. Health comes back slowly while you are not being hit.
Tips for new fighters
- Watch the wind-up. Every strike pulls back before it lands. That is your cue to block or step out of range.
- Do not block early. A block pressed too soon is a block that is not up when the hit arrives.
- Punish a blocked strike. After you stop a blow, the attacker is open: hit back straight away.
- Use throws on people who block a lot. A grab goes straight through a guard.
- Mix high and low. Someone braced for a head kick is wide open to a sweep.
- Get up smart. Roll as you land so you are not lying there to be stomped.
- Mind the edges and the hazards. A side kick into a wall or a spike bed ends fights quickly.
How it is built
Splinter Kick runs on WebGL with three.js for the graphics and the Rapier physics engine for the bodies, simulated at a fixed 120 steps per second. Animation is procedural: poses are blended and corrected with inverse kinematics so feet plant on the ground, strikes reach for their target and limbs stop where they make contact. When a fighter is knocked down, the animated body hands over to a jointed ragdoll that keeps its momentum. Online play uses a fast connection (WebTransport or WebRTC) where the browser supports it, with WebSockets as a fallback, and the server rewinds time to the moment you saw on your screen to decide whether your blow landed, so fights feel fair even with some network delay. Every fighter also wears a face that reacts to the fight and a random hat that flies off when they go down.
Every item in the roguelite
Singleplayer runs give you items that stack for the whole run. Clear a round and pick one of three. From round 3, elites drop item orbs, and every fifth round a champion drops two and guarantees a legendary in your next pick. There are 40 items in five rarities.
Common13 items
Sharper basics: harder hits, faster hands, tougher skin, small sparks and flames.
Rare11 items
Effects you notice: chain lightning, shockwaves, counters, blades that come back.
Epic7 items
Changes how you fight: meteors, lightning strikes, burning ground, frost that shatters.
Legendary6 items
Defines the run: a shadow clone, a phoenix, throws that detonate, time slowed.
Cursed3 items
Huge power at a real price.
Rarity odds by round
| After round | Common | Rare | Epic | Legendary | Cursed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 69.4% | 23.8% | 5.4% | 1.4% | 0% |
| Round 3 | 61.1% | 25.1% | 7.6% | 2.2% | 4% |
| Round 5 | 55.6% | 27.3% | 10.1% | 3% | 4% |
| Round 10 | 41.2% | 33% | 16.5% | 5.2% | 4.1% |
| Round 20 | 28.8% | 40.4% | 19.2% | 7.7% | 3.8% |
| Round 30 | 26.3% | 45.6% | 17.5% | 7% | 3.5% |
The chance for each card in the pick between rounds. Items you hold as many of as they allow stop appearing.
Common items
Fast Hands
+12% attack speed With 3: +40% attack speed
Thick Skin
Take 15% less damage With 3: Take 39% less damage
Clotting
Your wounds bleed 50% less With 3: Your wounds bleed 88% less
Iron Guard
Your guard recovers 60% faster With 3: Your guard recovers 310% faster
Quick Recovery
Get up 40% faster after a knockdown With 3: Get up 78% faster after a knockdown
Fleet
+10% movement speed With 3: +33% movement speed
Second Wind
Health regenerates 2× as fast With 3: Health regenerates 8× as fast
Static Gi
11% chance on hit to zap the target With 3: 26% chance on hit to zap the target
Ember Wraps
13% chance on hit to set the target burning With 3: 31% chance on hit to set the target burning
Steel Toes
Kicks that knock someone down send them 30% further With 3: Kicks that knock someone down send them 90% further
Second Breath
A perfect block heals 6% With 3: A perfect block heals 18%
Momentum
Knocking someone out makes you 10% faster for 4 s With 3: Knocking someone out makes you 30% faster for 4 s
Rare items
Chain Lightning
20% chance on hit for lightning to arc to 2 more foes With 3: 43% chance on hit for lightning to arc to 4 more foes
Kindling
Foes knocked out while burning explode (2.2 m) With 3: Foes knocked out while burning explode (3.0 m)
Thunderclap
Landing from a jump sends out a shockwave (2.0 m) With 3: Landing from a jump sends out a shockwave (2.8 m)
Boomerang Blade
Weapons you throw come back to your hand
Riposte
A perfect block blasts the attacker away (12% damage) With 3: A perfect block blasts the attacker away (36% damage)
Adrenaline
Knocking someone out heals 8% With 3: Knocking someone out heals 24%
Spiked Gi
Whoever strikes you takes 6% damage and is zapped With 3: Whoever strikes you takes 18% damage and is zapped
Lucky Charm
Chance effects trigger 25% more often With 3: Chance effects trigger 75% more often
Armed
Start every round with a knife
Iron Neck
Your neck can no longer be broken
Tailwind
A perfect block makes you 20% faster for 3 s With 3: A perfect block makes you 60% faster for 3 s
Epic items
Meteor Heel
Your flying kick lands like a meteor (2.9 m blast) With 3: Your flying kick lands like a meteor (3.9 m blast)
Storm Fists
Every 3rd blow calls down lightning (35% damage) With 3: Every 3rd blow calls down lightning (55% damage)
Inferno
Foes you knock down leave burning ground for 4 s With 3: Foes you knock down leave burning ground for 6 s
Gravity Well
Bodies you throw pull in every foe within 5 m when they land With 3: Bodies you throw pull in every foe within 7 m when they land
Frost Gi
Hits chill (20% each); fully chilled foes shatter With 3: Hits chill (60% each); fully chilled foes shatter
Echo
Your blows strike again half a second later (40% as hard) With 3: Your blows strike again half a second later (120% as hard)
Wildfire
Burning spreads to foes within 2.0 m With 3: Burning spreads to foes within 3.0 m
Legendary items
Thor's Grip
Everything you throw, bodies too, detonates in lightning (3.0 m) With 3: Everything you throw, bodies too, detonates in lightning (4.0 m)
Phoenix
The first time you'd be knocked out each round, you burst into flame and get back up With 3: The first 3 times you'd be knocked out each round, you burst into flame and get back up
Shadow Clone
A shadow of you fights at your side, with your items With 3: 2 shadows of you fight at your side, with your items
Domino
Bodies you send flying knock down whoever they hit With 3: Bodies you send flying knock down whoever they hit, 3× as hard
Bullet Time
A perfect block slows everyone else down for 2.0 s With 3: A perfect block slows everyone else down for 3.0 s
Supernova
Every 7 knockouts, you explode with light (5 m) With 3: Every 3 knockouts, you explode with light (5 m)
Cursed items
Glass Cannon
Deal double damage. Take double damage. With 3: Deal double damage. Take double damage.
Berserker
You can't block. Every blow you land makes you faster for the round (up to +60%).
Live Wire
Chance effects trigger twice as often, but every zap you throw shocks you too
Elites and champions
- Elites start appearing in round 3 (8% of enemies, rising to 45%). They are tougher and hit harder, and their blows burn (blazing), shock (storm) or chill (glacial). Each drops an item orb: 55% rare, 33% epic, 12% legendary.
- Champions lead every fifth round with two elite powers, about three and a half times the health, and a health bar of their own. They drop two orbs (60% epic, 40% legendary), and your next pick always has a legendary.
Items in multiplayer
In the online yard, items appear around the map, each one of these with its name over it, at the odds of a pick after round 5. Walk into one to keep it, stacked with the rest of what you hold, until you're knocked out. Shadow Clone, Armed, Phoenix and Bullet Time only work in singleplayer, so they never appear online.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Splinter Kick free?
- Yes. It is free to play in your browser, with no download, no account and no payment.
- Which browsers does it run in?
- Any modern browser with WebGL: Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on desktop, and current mobile browsers. A computer with a dedicated or recent integrated graphics chip gives the smoothest fights.
- Can I play on my phone?
- Yes. On a touch screen you move with a thumb stick, drag to look, and fight with two buttons, hit and block. A weapon button appears when there is a weapon to pick up or throw. A keyboard and mouse adds jumping, crouching and rolling.
- How many people can play online?
- Up to 40 fighters share one online yard. Bots fill in when there are fewer people around, and more yards open up when one is full.
- Do I need an account?
- No. Type a name on the home screen if you want one, or play as a guest. Your name and your best arena round are remembered in your own browser.
- Is it suitable for kids?
- Splinter Kick is a cartoon-styled fighting game with blood, wounds and severed limbs, comparable to a teen-rated game. Names and chat messages are filtered for offensive words, but chat is not moderated live.
- Where else can I play?
- Splinter Kick is also on Wavedash.
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