Sonarush 3.0: online action you play by ear, accessible from day one

By Vabax, 23 October, 2026

Forum
macOS and Mac Apps

Hi everyone,

Sonarush is a free real-time action game for Mac and Windows, played entirely through sound: 3D audio and speech replace the screen, and it speaks through VoiceOver. Version 2.0 is out today, and it's the biggest update so far: the game goes online. You can play with other people, team up with friends, join a club and climb the leaderboards, and everything you liked offline is still there.

If you have 1.1.1, the game updates itself: just start it. Otherwise download it from https://sonarush.vabax.it or https://vabax.itch.io/sonarush

New to Sonarush, or curious about the earlier discussion? Here is the previous topic about version 1.1.1: Sonarush 1.1.1 on AppleVis

Update: 2.0.1 is already out with a few small fixes from the first online matches. The radar and the "am I in range" key now name the character instead of the player's name, online matches play the Halloween music like offline ones, and a few mode descriptions are clearer. The game installs it by itself.

Playing online

  • Pick a mode and you're matched with players close to your trophies. If someone is still missing after ten seconds, bots fill the empty spots, so you never wait long.
  • An online match sounds exactly like an offline one: same sounds, same announcements, and your north always points at the enemy.
  • If your connection drops, a bot takes over your character and you can rejoin within a minute.
  • Quick chat: keys 1 to 8 send your team one of eight ready-made phrases, heard by everyone in their own language. There is no free chat.
  • Without internet you play offline against bots, as before.

Friends, squads, clubs

  • Friends: add anyone by name or tag and hear who's online and what they're doing.
  • Squads to play on the same side, and online rooms for custom matches with friends, bots and up to ten spectators.
  • Listen to a friend's match from their point of view.
  • Clubs of up to 30 members, with roles and a club leaderboard.
  • Leaderboards: global, by country and per character, with a public profile for every player.
  • Do not disturb, when you want to play in peace.

Your account

  • Created automatically, with no email or password. Your progress is saved on the server too.
  • A recovery code takes your account to another computer: keep it safe, nobody will ever ask you for it. You can also link a second computer with a six-character code, or add an optional email.
  • You can delete your account from the game, with 14 days to change your mind.

Modes and maps

  • Modes rotate through turns during the day, the same for everyone: Duel and Star Hunt, King of the Hill and Heist, Survival always on, Siege at weekends. Maps change on every turn.
  • Survival now has acid closing in from the edge, and in Heist your safe is always to the south.

Also new

  • Every character now has a gadget of their own, Faro heals teammates by hitting enemies, and many characters have been rebalanced.
  • A daily gift, reorganised menus, and simpler Sonar Rewards.
  • Season 2 of the Frequency starts on Monday 2 November, with seventy steps.
  • Rewritten guides and a new website with every character and the version history.
  • Fairer matches, bots that no longer get stuck on walls, and many fixes.

On Mac: Apple silicon and macOS 14 Sonoma or later, as in 1.1. If you download by hand, unblock the app once from Terminal: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Sonarush.app

There's now an official Discord server, the easiest place to find teammates: https://discord.gg/GqYnSUeEUz

Questions, bugs and ideas are very welcome, in the comments, on Discord or at [email protected].

See you in the arena, Vabax

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Comments

By Vabax on Monday, October 26, 2026 - 22:22

Hi everyone,

Sonarush 2.1 is out. It brings Season 2, Autumn Fog, which starts on Monday 2 November: a mode of the day played in the fog, a new character, new missions and new skins. It also fixes a bug that kept online matches from counting for your missions.

If you have 2.0 or 2.0.1, the game updates itself: just start it, and it reopens on 2.1. Otherwise it's on https://sonarush.vabax.it, where the download buttons start straight away, and on https://vabax.itch.io/sonarush

THE FOG

- From 2 November, at the bottom of the modes there's a mode of the day played in the fog: a different one every day, the same for everyone, from 300 trophies. Radio Sonora announces the start of the season.
- In the fog, distant sounds come through muffled and lose their highs, while nearby ones stay clear. You have to get closer, and listen harder.
- Trophies count as usual. Online, the fog has its own queue, so you play with people who chose it; in the Rehearsal Room the leader can turn the fog on in any mode.

BRAM, THE BELL-RINGER

A rare tank, from 2 November, found like the other rares. His super, Alarm Bell, pushes away anyone close, and for five seconds lets his team hear an echo from every nearby enemy. With his gadget, Mute, his footsteps can't be heard for four seconds.

MISSIONS AND SKINS

- Fog Missions: five missions played in the fog. The last one gives the Lighthouse Keeper, a skin for Faro that can't be bought.
- Fog skins: the usual sounds of each character, veiled by the fog, with a costume on top. Zoe the Lamplighter, Kael the Fog Wolf and Elodie the Veiled Lady are at the Sonarium; Morgana the Mist Witch is the last tier of Frequency Plus. A skin you win for a character you don't have yet stays yours, and you'll hear it when you get them.

ALSO NEW

- Online matches now count for everything: missions (eliminations, damage, supers, character missions), character stats and records, elimination experience and the Star Player bonus. Before, only offline matches did. To say sorry, if you were already playing you'll find a gift in the Sonarium, under the daily gift: 20000 Frequency experience points, to collect once.
- At the end of an online match you hear your trophies again, with their bell, and friend and club notifications arrive without delay.
- Clubs from the leaderboard: Enter on a club, in the leaderboard or in search results, opens its page with trophies and members, and you can join from there.
- Balance (level 1 values; they grow with levels as always):
- Mira: each shot of her burst deals 200 damage instead of 250 (her whole attack goes from 1500 to 1200), and each shot of her super 250 instead of 300.
- Faro: Attack from 980 to 1050.
- Tessa: Attack from 960 to 1000.
- Volkan: Speed from 4.4 to 4.6.
- Pausing can no longer freeze the game.
- The download is smaller: the sounds are now compressed, with no audible difference.
- Halloween stays until 1 November, as promised.

ON MAC

macOS 14 Sonoma or later and Apple silicon. If you download by hand, unblock the app once from Terminal: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Sonarush.app. Updates downloaded by the game itself don't need this.

COME AND SAY HI

The official Discord server is the easiest place to find teammates and talk about the game: https://discord.gg/GqYnSUeEUz

Questions, bugs and ideas are very welcome, here, on Discord or at [email protected].

See you in the fog,
Vabax

By Vabax on Monday, November 2, 2026 - 14:30

Hi everyone,

Sonarush 3.0 is out, and it's the version that changes how you play the most since 2.0: a new permanent mode, every character reworked, wider aim, and for the first time a way to support the game by buying gems and skins.

If you have 2.0 or 2.1, the game updates itself: just start it, and it reopens on 3.0. Otherwise it's on https://sonarush.vabax.it, where the download buttons start straight away, and on https://vabax.itch.io/sonarush

SONARBALL

A new permanent mode, three against three with a jingling ball. Shoot with the attack key, lob with the super key, and the first team to two goals wins. A goal has its own orchestral sound, which changes with the team. It opens at 300 trophies.

RENEWED CHARACTERS

- Four close speeds, the new Fighter class, fast tanks that also charge their super by taking hits, and shooters with the longest range.
- Everyone has 3 shots, a super never does less than the attack, and gadgets only have a cooldown.
- Level 10 is worth twice level 1: health, damage, supers, healing and shields.
- Grom is rebuilt: he throws three mines in a triangle, which blow up on whoever they hit or stay on the ground for three seconds. His super is a megamine that chases the nearest enemy, and you hear it coming like a burning fuse. The Miner's Patience gadget keeps the mines of the next throw on the ground for ten seconds.
- Thora's super opens a zone as long as her range and 4 metres wide, dealing 800 damage per second to whoever stays inside.
- Tecla's turret is called Boltina: it stays until it is destroyed, and the radar calls it by name.

AIM

- Aim assist now locks according to the character: wide for those who hit up close, narrow for those with a precise shot. Your shot goes where the enemy is, without leading, so someone running sideways can dodge it.
- All characters have one extra metre of range and 10 more degrees of cone, for the shot and for the aim lock.
- Bots stay hard, but about one shot in eight now really misses.

PURCHASES

- The Sonarium now sells gems, and skins and Frequency Plus have a direct price, in euros in the European Union and in dollars elsewhere.
- You pay in your browser on a secure Stripe page: the game never sees your card. You need an email linked to your account, for the receipt.
- No advantages in matches, and Sonar Prizes are not for sale. If you already own a skin or Plus by the time your payment arrives, you get the gems it's worth instead.
- Gem prices go up by one and a half: skins 119, specials 149, Frequency Plus 299, and a Frequency tier 45 gems. Gems no longer convert into anything.

ALSO NEW

- A richer Sonarium: a Frequency department for Plus and tiers, gem packs that say how good a deal they are, and a list of your purchases.
- More consistent menus: going back returns you to the item you started from, and every submenu ends with Back.
- The Frequency follows your account on every computer, King of the Hill ends at 100 points, and Sonar Prizes skip pointless taps.
- Online: if a room is full you join as a spectator, and if your connection silently drops during a match the game now notices within ten seconds and tries to bring you back, instead of leaving you in silence.
- Security and speed: many fixes on the server, which also got lighter.

BALANCE

From 2.1 to 3.0, values at level 1. At level 10 health and damage are worth twice as much.

- Bram: health 6000 to 5600; speed 3.4 to 4.9; reload 1.3 to 1.15 s; super damage 900 to 1150.
- Bruno: speed 3.6 to 4.9.
- Draco: health 5400 to 5300; speed 4 to 4.9; damage 1300 to 1200.
- Renzo: health 5800 to 5400; speed 3.2 to 4.9; damage 1200 to 1100; reload 1 to 1.15 s; hits for the super 6 to 7.
- Kael: health 3400 to 3350; speed 6.3 to 5.4; damage 1450 to 1100; super damage 2200 to 2000.
- Nyx: health 3800 to 3900; speed 5.8 to 5.4; reload 1.03 to 1 s.
- Kai: health 3900 to 3950; damage 1150 to 1250.
- Volkan: health 4600 to 5000; speed 4.6 to 4.5; range 4.4 to 6 m; reload 1.4 to 1.26 s.
- Echo: health 3300 to 3200; speed 5.3 to 4.5; range 7.9 to 10.5 m; damage 1250 to 1700; reload 1.17 to 1.7 s; hits for the super 5 to 4.
- Mira: speed 5.5 to 4.6; range 8.8 to 11 m; damage 1200 to 1500; reload 1.1 to 1.2 s; hits for the super 30 to 24.
- Tecla: health 3500 to 3200; speed 4.7 to 4.4; range 7.5 to 10 m; damage 1000 to 1300; reload 1.44 to 1.6 s; hits for the super 7 to 5.
- Vex: health 3300 to 3200; speed 5.2 to 4.5; range 8.4 to 10.5 m; damage 1050 to 1450; reload 1.22 to 1.8 s; hits for the super 9 to 6; super damage 1300 to 1450.
- Zoe: health 3300 to 3200; speed 5 to 4.4; range 7.5 to 10 m; damage 1300 to 1700; reload 1.27 to 1.7 s; hits for the super 5 to 4; super damage 1400 to 1700.
- Elodie: health 3000 to 2900; speed 4.3 to 4; range 11.9 to 9 m; damage 1600 to 1500; reload 1.9 to 1.8 s; ammo 2 to 3.
- Nova: health 3400 to 3500; speed 4.2 to 4.1; range 10.2 to 9 m; damage 1020 to 1250; reload 1.71 to 1.6 s; super damage 1000 to 1250.
- Thora: health 3000 to 3100; speed 4.5 to 4.1; range 12.8 to 9.5 m; damage 2000 to 1600; reload 2.2 to 1.5 s; ammo 2 to 3.
- Faro: health 3900 to 4050; damage 1050 to 1200; reload 1.26 to 1.2 s; hits for the super 7 to 4.
- Lyra: health 3600 to 4000; damage 950 to 1100; reload 1.35 to 1.2 s.
- Mariarita: health 3900 to 4400; speed 4.3 to 4.5; range 7 to 6 m; damage 920 to 1250; reload 1.36 to 1.2 s; hits for the super 7 to 5.
- Zara: health 3800 to 3850; damage 1000 to 1150; hits for the super 7 to 4.
- Grom: health 4200 to 3000; speed 3.6 to 4.5; damage 850 to 450; reload 1.6 to 1.5 s; hits for the super 8 to 6.
- Morgana: health 3700 to 3900; speed 4.2 to 4.1; damage 950 to 1200; reload 1.7 to 1.5 s.
- Tessa: health 4300 to 4400; speed 3.8 to 4; damage 1000 to 1080; reload 1.44 to 1.35 s; super damage 800 to 1500.

ON MAC

macOS 14 Sonoma or later and Apple silicon. If you download by hand, unblock the app once from Terminal: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Sonarush.app. Updates downloaded by the game itself don't need this.

COME AND SAY HI

The official Discord server is the easiest place to find teammates and talk about the game: https://discord.gg/GqYnSUeEUz

Questions, bugs and ideas are very welcome, here, on Discord or at [email protected].

See you on the pitch,
Vabax