Ambo
In development. The first level is playable.

Ambo and the Great Tree

A platformer made from its soundtrack. A chubby pangolin rolls, climbs and licks his way through a tree the size of a continent, and the music answers every move.

Follow the devlog See how it plays
The music plays the game

Every world began as a sound

The composer wrote each world as a sound palette first and built the place around it. The soundtrack comes in layers, and the game turns them on and off with what you do.

Ambo the pangolin, six expressions

Roll, and the band adds a shaker

Ambo's scales rattle when he curls into a ball. A percussion layer joins the song for as long as he rolls and drops out when he stands up.

A spiny frog from the jungle of the Great Tree

The jungle keeps time

Mushrooms play a note when he lands on them. Frogs, vines and fireflies move on the beat, and a woodpecker drums along with the song.

Mica the sugar glider, six expressions

Mica sings him back

Mica rides on Ambo's back and takes a hit for him. She lands on a perch nearby and sings his four-note motif until he comes to pick her up.

Ambo and Mica swimming in a river

Secrets with their own loop

Hidden rooms sit behind leaf curtains and roots. Each one plays a bonus loop and gives you 20 seconds to catch every drop of amber.

The story

The amber is gone

The Great Tree is so old and so big that animals live on it as if it were a continent. Its sap turns into drops of amber that keep the trunk alive and warm, and Ambo's family has looked after them for generations.

One stormy night Ambo wakes up and finds the Hollow of the Roots empty. All that is left are bite marks and a trail of sawdust.

The Termite Queen wants to empty the tree and turn it into the biggest termite mound in the world. Ambo is a pangolin, and pangolins eat termites. He is the one creature the colony fears.

A giant tree trunk in a misty jungle, amber glowing in its bark
The worlds

From the roots to the crown

Six worlds of five levels and a boss each, plus a secret one. Each world has its own instruments.

Jungle at the foot of the trunk
Root JungleThe jungle at the foot of the trunk. Marimba and congas.
Caves of glowing amber inside the trunk
Amber CavesGlowing caves inside the trunk. Tuned drops and vibraphone.
A misty river running along a huge branch
Mist RiverA river on top of a branch. Electric piano and fog.
A termite mine with carts, drills and furnaces
Termite MinesThe colony's mine in the roots. Metal and a dirty organ.
Thorny branches above the clouds at sunrise
The CrownThe crown, above the clouds. Synth arpeggios and choirs.
The red heart of the tree, full of termite cells and amber
The Queen's NestThe Queen's nest in the heart. Everything in minor.
A sprout growing inside a giant translucent seed
The SeedThe secret world. The tree when it was young.
Who is who

A pangolin, a glider and a queen

Ambo, a chubby orange pangolin with a green scarf

Ambo

A chubby pangolin with a green scarf. Slow to anger and hard to stop once he rolls.

Mica, a grey sugar glider with big eyes

Mica

A sugar glider who rides on his back and talks for both of them. Brave in words, less so near armoured termites.

The Termite Queen with an amber crown

The Termite Queen

Calm, polite and tired. Her old stump rotted away and her daughters need a home. She plans to take yours.

Where it stands

Made in the open, one track at a time

58tracks in the soundtrack plan
6 + 1worlds, one of them secret
5levels and a boss in each world
1-1the first level, playable today
Follow along

Get the devlog

One email a month with new music, new levels and what went wrong. No spam.