How to play utoñ
Everything you need to go from your first run to topping the leaderboard — the controls, the power-ups, the worlds, and how rewards work.
Introduction
What utoñ isutoñ (oo‑tonh — “shooting” in Ibibio) is a fast arcade bullet-hell with deep Nigerian roots. A masquerade spirit hunts you across the cities, deserts and seas of the world, raining patterned fire as it hovers and dives.
Your hero fires automatically, so the game is all about movement. Read each attack, slip through the gaps, and wear the spirit down. Defeat it and you travel to the next world, where it returns — tougher, and somewhere new. The loop is simple to pick up and rewards you the longer you can survive.
Getting started & sign in
Two ways to playOpen the game and you’ll land on the start screen with two choices:
- Play as guest — jump straight in, no account, no wallet. Perfect for learning the ropes.
- Connect a wallet — sign in with a Solana wallet so your best scores are saved to the leaderboard and counted toward rewards.
To connect, tap Connect wallet and pick your option:
- Phantom or Solflare — opens the game inside your wallet’s in-app browser, then tap Connect to link.
- Paste your address — if you’d rather not connect an app, just paste your Solana wallet address and save it.
Controls
One thumb- Drag to move — touch and drag anywhere (or move your mouse) to glide your hero around the arena.
- Auto-fire — your blaster shoots on its own. Keep your attention on dodging, not tapping.
- Control bar — buttons along the bottom let you trigger a Bomb (clears the screen and hits the boss), raise a Shield, or spend a banked Extra life when things get tight.
- Pause — pause any time to breathe, or to open the store and spend credits.
Power-ups & drops
Grab everythingBeaten bosses and mid-fight drops scatter pickups across the screen. Some are timed boosts, some are permanent run currency:
- Rapid fire — shoot faster for a while.
- Spread shot — fire a fan of extra bolts.
- Magnet — pull in nearby gems and credits.
- Burn — set the masquerade alight for damage over time.
- Invincible — five seconds completely untouchable.
- Costumes — rare drops that give your hero a fun new look for the run.
- Gems boost your score; credits are the currency you spend in the store.
The store
Spend your creditsThe store opens automatically every few levels, and any time from the pause menu. Spend the credits you’ve collected on permanent upgrades for the run:
Each upgrade shows its level and cost, and highlights what you can afford. Extra hearts from the store are limited per run, so spend them when they’ll matter most.
Bosses & difficulty
The climb- The masquerade — your stage boss hovers, telegraphs, and dives to swallow you. Dodge the dive or shoot it down.
- Mini-bosses — every fourth level brings a tougher variant with extra health and a ring-burst entrance.
- Big Boss — every twentieth level is a towering Big Boss with far more health and a meaner attack set.
- Rising difficulty — each Big Boss you beat ramps up the speed, health and danger for the next stretch of worlds, so it never stops getting harder.
- Hazards — as you climb you’ll meet drifting debris, proximity mines, sweeping lasers and rotating beams on top of the bullets.
The worlds
29 stagesEvery stage is a hand-drawn dusk scene with its own colour palette and a signature landmark on the skyline. Clear one and you travel to the next:
Look for the landmarks — Rio’s mountain-top statue, Sydney’s opera shells, San Francisco’s red bridge, Shanghai’s pearl tower and more.
Scores & rewards
Play-to-earnPlay for the fun first — the rewards are a bonus on top. When you’re signed in with a wallet, every run you finish submits your best score to the global leaderboard.
- Climb — the longer you survive and the higher you score, the higher you sit on the board.
- Earn — players at the top of the leaderboard share in $utoñ rewards.
- Keep going — the board resets and refreshes, so there’s always a new run to chase.
Guests can play forever for free — connecting a wallet is simply how you put your score on the board and become eligible for rewards.
Tips
Survive longer- Stay near the middle-bottom — it gives you the most room to react to dives and sweeps.
- Don’t hug the edges; that’s where walls and lasers trap you.
- Save your bomb for a screen full of bullets, not a single attack.
- Prioritise Nimble and Rapid Blaster early — a smaller hitbox and faster fire compound fast.
- Grab Invincible and push through a tough pattern rather than sitting still.