AN ADVENTURE BY COPAL GAMES

XibalbáThe Last Light

A supernatural ball is your weapon and your only light.
Descend through the houses of Xibalbá and outwit their Lords.

Play the private test Meet the six houses

In development for PC, Android and iOS · Password-protected web test

01 / SOMEONE PLAYS BELOW

Someone is playing
beneath your village.

Every night, a young ballplayer hears a ball striking stone beneath the village's abandoned court. One dawn he answers: he strikes once, and from below, someone strikes back.

The stone cracks and he falls into a cavern where dawn never comes. There he finds a black ball crossed by glowing cracks, with a living light pulsing inside. A voice tells him: “Anyone can play here. The hard part is leaving the court.”

The Lords of Xibalbá rule in darkness, and they want that light. They don't expect to beat you fairly: they expect you to accept their rules without question. To get out, you have to understand those rules and break them.

Xibalbá: The Last Light is original fiction inspired by the Xibalbá of the Popol Wuj, from the K'iche' Maya tradition. It does not retell the story: the player, the glowing ball, the guardians and the ending are the game's own invention.

02 / A SINGLE VERB

Throw, recall,
strike back.

The same ball attacks, lights the way and solves puzzles. Everything comes down to one question: where do you need the light right now? Beside you, on the enemy, or across the room?

WITH YOU

Light your steps

It lights the ground nearby, reveals mechanisms and shows dangers before they arrive. It doesn't attack.

THROWN

Discover what lies ahead

The light travels with it: it bounces off marked walls, hits enemies from behind and triggers distant mechanisms. Meanwhile, you're left in the half-dark.

RETURNING

The hip strike

It flies straight back to you. As in the Mesoamerican ballgame, the serve only gives light: what counts is striking it back with your hip at the right moment.

The underworld deceives you

Every house and every guardian has a rule. Attacking head-on never works: you win when you understand the rule and break it with the room and the ball.

Die to return

Dying isn't always losing. Before a Door of Camé, letting yourself be killed wakes you on the other side as a shadow: no body and no light, but jaguars and bats can neither see nor hear you.

A fair darkness

It's never pitch black and it never hurts on its own. Every attack is telegraphed at any light level, and the ball always comes back when you call it.

03 / THE SIX HOUSES

Six trial houses.
Six rules to break.

The houses are those of the Popol Wuj. Each one makes you use the same ball differently, and each is watched by a guardian with its own trick. From the stands, a pair of Lords watches to see whether you accept their rules.

House of Darkness

The rule: Light reveals mechanisms and tells real guardians apart from motionless figures.
The guardian: The Wooden Council: a hall of seated figures. Only some are real, and they change places when the light isn't on them.

House of Blades

The rule: Time your bounces with traps that open and close.
The guardian: The Sharpener: it throws blades that return to it. It can only be wounded by deflecting one against what protects it.

House of Cold

The rule: The ball carries heat from one brazier to the next; you decide which stretch of the path stays lit.
The guardian: She Who Snuffs: she puts out braziers as she passes. Only a heat-charged ball leaves her vulnerable.

House of Jaguars

The rule: It's not about destroying everything that moves, but about drawing attention away and crossing territories.
The guardian: The Pack: it is never killed. You lure it with light and sound into bone cages while you cross the courtyard.

House of Fire

The rule: The ball picks up an ember and releases it elsewhere to clear the way.
The guardian: The Oven: it never goes out. The flames on its walls are doors, and you have to empty them of fire one by one.

House of Bats

The rule: Every impact makes a sound, and sound draws threats toward its source.
The guardian: The Listener: it hangs from the ceiling and attacks sound. You trap it between columns by striking distant pots.

Further down waits the buried court, where Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé preside over a match no one wins by their rules.

04 / SCREENSHOTS

What the ball brings to light.

Actual screenshots from the game in development (in Spanish). Select an image to enlarge it.

05 / THE PRIVATE TEST

Go down to the court.

Web version in development · Spanish and English · Keyboard and mouse, gamepad or touch

The private test is the full campaign in your browser: the fall, the rivers, the refuge, the six houses and the buried court. Access is private, with a username and password.

Play the private test

How do I get access?

The test is closed. If Copal Games gave you a username and password, select “Play the private test”. To request access, write to support@copal.games.

What do I need to play?

An up-to-date browser on a computer, with keyboard and mouse or a gamepad. Phones and tablets get touch controls, still being tested. The first load downloads about 16 MB.

Is my progress saved?

Yes. The game saves at rest points, inside the browser you use. If you clear the site's data or switch browsers, you start over.

What language is it in?

The game is in Spanish and English; choose the language in Options. This site is available in four languages.

Does it have accessibility options?

Yes: aim assist, a wider strike window, a hip-strike cue, reduced screen shake and flashes, high contrast in the half-dark, large text, adjustable brightness and remappable controls.

What comes from the Popol Wuj and what is invented?

From the story come the six trial houses, the ballgame against the Lords and their names, cunning as the way to win, the wooden figures, the oven and the return after death. The player, the glowing ball, the guardians, the characters of the refuge and the ending are the game's own invention. Names and cultural texts are provisional and will be reviewed by a K'iche' cultural advisor.