About River Rebel
River Rebel is a free 3D game about cleaning a dying river in a small Indian town. You are Sonu, a student with gloves, a sack and Rs 3,000, standing on the bank of the Ajnar Nadi. The water is grey, the bank is covered in bags, bottles, tyres and puja flowers, and the river health meter reads 21: dying.
You wade in and pick it up, one sack at a time, and sell it at the Kachra Point. Everything you, your crew and your machines bring in fills the Kachra meter, and every level unlocks something: a net, a shovel for the sludge, a sickle for the water hyacinth, a boat for the deep middle, then helpers, diggers, netters and boatmen who work on their own. Later come the machines: a googly-eyed trash wheel that catches floaters, Bio-Bugs that eat the sludge, a skimmer boat, a JCB, a collection truck, a recycling unit, a wetland and a sewage plant.
Picking is only half of it, because the town keeps throwing. Put dustbins, a flower bin, a drain screen and signs on the yellow rings, talk litterers out of tipping their bags in (being kind works better), and watch the far bank at night for the tractor that comes to dump. Film before and after reels to grow your followers: fame brings newspaper stories, volunteers, sponsors and money. At level 6 you can form River Rebel Pvt Ltd, take loans, contracts and grants, and let the crew and machines run the river while you watch the water turn blue. Days and nights roll on without end, the town grows, and more garbage comes with it.
How to play
- Pick: walk to anything glowing and hold E or Space (on a phone, hold the big button). Bags and bottles are quick. Sludge and hyacinth are slow by hand and four times faster with a shovel or a sickle, and a tyre takes a long heave unless someone from your crew is close by.
- Sell: your sack fills up. Walk into the green Kachra Point to empty it and get paid by the kg.
- Mind the water: Sonu can't swim. The deep middle is off limits until you buy the boat, and floaters drift downstream and are gone for good, so get them first.
- Stop it at the source: build on the yellow rings with B. A drain screen and a float boom catch what would have reached the river; bins and the flower bin give people somewhere else to throw.
- Spend well: early money goes on the sack and tools, then the first helper. Crew cost a signing fee and a daily wage, machines cost upkeep, both paid every morning, so hire when the money keeps coming in.
- Film reels with R: one shot before, one after. Followers turn into volunteers who come for free and sponsors who pay every morning.
Controls
| W A S D or arrows | Walk and wade |
|---|---|
| Shift (hold) | Run (uses stamina) |
| E or Space (hold) | Pick, net, dig, cut, empty the sack, talk |
| B | Build on a yellow ring, board the boat |
| R | Film a reel |
| Tab or I | Shop |
| N | Sleep through the night |
| M | Sound on or off |
| Esc / P | Pause |
| Phone | Stick to walk (push it all the way to run), hold the big button to act, BUILD on a ring, 📱 for reels, 🛒 for the shop, 😴 to sleep |
FAQ
Is River Rebel free?
Yes. It runs in your browser on computers and phones (in landscape), with nothing to install.
Is it a true story?
It is inspired by the news of young people cleaning India's rivers by hand, like Bittu Tabahi on the Ajnar in Biaora, Madhya Pradesh. Sonu, the town, the people and every number in the game are made up.
Does the game end?
No. Days and nights keep going, the levels keep coming and the town keeps growing. Your river is saved in your browser, so you can come back to it.
How do I level up faster?
Upgrade the sack early so you walk to the Kachra Point less, sell often, hire your first helper as soon as wages are safe, and build a drain screen so less dirt comes in. Each level also pays a cash reward.
How do I get on the leaderboard?
Create a free account (18+). The board ranks the total kg of garbage you, your crew and your machines have collected, and it updates every morning in the game.
A parody and fiction inspired by real events. Not news or advice, and not affiliated with or endorsed by anyone in the game. Legal & privacy