PULSE // ZERO

PULSE//ZERO is a fast, neon-drenched twin-stick arcade shooter built around movement, mastery and score chasing.

Pilot a high-speed combat craft across a reactive Living Grid, survive escalating enemy formations, face powerful bosses and push for a higher score with every run.

v0.3 — Clear Signal

Clear Signal makes PULSE//ZERO clearer, fairer and more replayable while keeping the full game playable offline.

Face the Void Titan

Take on PULSE//ZERO’s largest boss encounter yet.

The Void Titan is not simply another ship. It is an anomaly entity that dominates the arena across three escalating phases.

Break its external nodes, expose the core and survive attacks including:

• Gravity Well
• Null Beam
• Asteroid Shear
• Event-Horizon Ring
• Singularity Spawn
• Void Lance

Every attack is clearly telegraphed, rewarding positioning, awareness and precise movement rather than trial and error.

Online and offline leaderboards

Chase scores your way.

PULSE//ZERO includes a fully offline local leaderboard containing your most recent runs.

Online leaderboards are also available through Northforge Online for players who choose to participate.

• No always-online requirement
• No hidden telemetry
• Nothing is uploaded unless you explicitly opt in

Offline first. Online optional.

Accessibility and readability

Clear Signal introduces new presentation controls designed to preserve the intensity of combat while making the action easier to follow.

Features include:

• Screen-shake toggle
• Adjustable shake intensity
• Reduced Effects mode
• High-visibility player locator
• Clearer enemy spawn warnings
• Improved boss attack telegraphs
• A calmer, more readable Living Grid

Difficulty should come from the decisions you make, not from losing sight of your ship.

Fairer spawning

Enemy placement has been significantly improved.

Enemies now use safer spawn positions and per-type placement rules, preventing dangerous units from appearing directly on top of the player.

More threatening arrivals receive clear advance warnings, giving you time to react without removing the pressure.

A more readable Living Grid

The arena still reacts continuously to the fight, but Clear Signal reduces unnecessary visual churn.

Movement creates wakes. Impacts send ripples through the battlefield. Gravity wells pull the Grid inward. Boss attacks deform the space around them.

The result is a battlefield that feels alive without obscuring the action.

Features

• Fast twin-stick arcade combat
• Responsive acceleration-based flight
• Mouse and keyboard support
• Full controller support
• Steam Deck and Linux support
• Reactive Living Grid battlefield
• Adaptive encounter pacing
• Multi-phase bosses
• Dynamic hazards and anomalies
• Local offline leaderboards
• Optional global leaderboards
• Rich local run history
• Accessibility and visual-effect controls
• No account required
• No telemetry
• Fully playable offline

Controls

Controller

• Move: Left Stick
• Aim and fire: Right Stick
• Dash: LB
• Bomb: RB

Keyboard and mouse

• Move: WASD
• Aim and fire: Mouse
• Dash: Space
• Bomb: E

Available for

• Windows
• Linux
• Mac

Early development

PULSE//ZERO is still growing.

Future updates will continue expanding:

• battlefield anomalies
• bosses
• weapons
• enemy behaviours
• audio and visual polish
• community features
• the path toward version 1.0

Player feedback directly helps shape what comes next.