Substrate Entity
Read ahead. Never stop.
Only for iPhone
Expected Sep 19, 2026 · Free · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.
iPhone
Seven strata, one thumb, and a trace that forks every beat. Some branches just stop. Read as far ahead as the plate is etched and keep the charge alive.
Substrate is an arcade game about reading ahead.
You are a charge running down an etched plate, one row every beat, and you cannot stop. The trace splits every beat. Some of the branches it offers are dead — they run a little way and then simply end — and the only way to tell is to read further down the plate than the branch is long.
Press the left or right side of the glass to pick your side. That is the whole control.
THE DESCENT
Seven strata, 118 to 172 beats a minute. The plate is etched a fixed distance ahead of you and no further; deeper down it is etched less far, the dead ends run longer, and the tempo climbs. The color change is the tempo change — when the stratum turns, everything gets faster at once.
CHARGE
Every row costs you charge. The bright pads put it back, and a run of them builds your multiplier. The branch that keeps you alive and the branch that keeps you fed are usually not the same branch, and that is where the game actually is.
AN ENDING
The descent finishes. Twelve hundred rows, seven strata, and a plate that closes — about eight and a half minutes of clean running. Close it once and the plate that never closes opens up.
RECORDS
Your best, how deep you have ever been, and a mark for every stratum you have left behind.
Portrait, one thumb, and short runs. Sound, haptics and motion can each be turned off.
It runs entirely on your phone. No account, no server, no analytics — the app has no network code in it at all.
Privacy Policy: https://dro1d.org/substrate.html#privacy
Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
The developer, DRO1D LABS LIMITED, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- DRO1D LABS LIMITED
- Size
- 822.3 KB
- Category
- Puzzle
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 26.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 26.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 26.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 Dro1d Labs Limited