# Reldens is an MMORPG platform that ships the systems a browser RPG needs > Reldens is a Node.js platform for building browser based multiplayer role playing games, with Colyseus for the server side rooms and Phaser for the client, and it bundles the parts that are tedious to write yourself, chat, trades, items, combat, clans, drops, scores and an administration panel. The 4.x line is still on a beta tag, which is the detail to weigh before committing to it. **damian-pastorini/reldens** — Reldens - You can make it - Open Source MMORPG Platform - Repository: https://github.com/damian-pastorini/reldens - Website: https://demo.reldens.com/ - Stars: 589 · Forks: 90 - Language: JavaScript - License: MIT - Published: 2026-10-22 · Updated: 2026-10-22 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/damian-pastorini-reldens ## A platform, not a game Reldens is described as a platform designed to help developers in creating multiplayer games, and the README's framing is that with a wide array of features it enables developers to craft a rich gaming experience without grappling with the complexities usually associated with making a multiplayer game secure and efficient over any network. So the deliverable is a foundation, not a game. The stack behind it is named in the same paragraph: Node.js, Parcel, Colyseus and Phaser, integrated with various database engines, with the platform claiming to ensure security, ease of use and a high level of customization for developers. Two details in the project metadata frame the current state. The version is 4.0.0-beta.39.9, and the release list shows that the 4.x line is still on beta tags, with 4.0.0-beta.39.9 published on 2026-10-05, 4.0.0-beta.39.8 on 2026-02-18 and 4.0.0-beta.39.7 on 2026-02-11. The licence is MIT, the primary language is JavaScript, the homepage is reldens.com with a live demo at demo.reldens.com, and the last push was on 2026-10-21. The README also says something about the audience that is easy to miss. The current stage of the platform is tailored for developers, and ongoing improvements to the administration panel aim to make game creation accessible to non-developers in the future. ## The feature list is a design document for a genre The platform's value is visible in the list of what it already does, and reading it tells you what kind of game the authors had in mind. There is an installation GUI for easy install through the web, and an administration panel to manage every single aspect of your game through the panel. There are automatic data generators and import commands for attributes, levels, maps and objects, so a new game does not start with an empty database schema. Then the systems. A trade system between players and with NPCs, who buy and sell. Full in-game chat, global, by room and private messages between users, with chat types and split in tabs. Fully configurable player stats, so HP, MP, magic or stamina are yours to define. An items system covering usable items and equipment. Attacks, PVP and PVE, with skills, attacks of a bullet type that can be dodged and a target type that cannot, fought against other players or against NPCs. NPCs, enemies and respawn areas. Teams and clans, with create, join and dismantle, and bonuses based on clan level. Drops and rewards where NPCs can drop any kind of item, configurable to be split among team members. Game rewards configured on events such as daily or weekly login. Game scores, for example keeping track of monster kills with a global scores table view. A physics engine and pathfinder on an authoritative server. A gravity world, so each room can be set with or without gravity. A sounds system with configurable multiple sound categories. An optional configurable minimap. Configurable visibility of player names and life bars. Terms and conditions ready to set up. Guest users. User registration with continuing play and double login invalidation. Multiple player creation. Registration and login integrated with Firebase. Multiple servers switch support, from room A in server A to room B in server B without notice. And a database ready with multiple drivers for different storage, using MySQL by default. ## The quick start is a web installer The README defers to an installation guide on the project site, and then gives a one line quick start: create the project skeleton with `npx reldens createApp`, run `node .` and open the web installer at `http://localhost:8080`. That is a notable difference from the usual game engine install, where you clone a repository, install dependencies and edit config files. Here the generator creates the skeleton and a browser-based installer walks you through the setup. The demo instance shows the same shape, with the game at demo.reldens.com and the server administration at the `/reldens-admin/` path, where an email is required to reach the admin area. The README is careful to say that the basic registration requires an email, a user and a password, but that no real data is required there, which is the right way to describe a demo with a real registration form on it. For a team evaluating the platform, the demo is the fastest route to a decision, since the feature list is long and the admin panel is the part that determines how much of the configuration you have to write yourself. ## Colyseus for the rooms, Phaser for the client The dependency list in the package manifest shows how the pieces are assembled. On the server side there is `@colyseus/core`, `@colyseus/schema`, `@colyseus/sdk` and `@colyseus/ws-transport`, plus `@colyseus/monitor`, which is the Colyseus monitoring dashboard for a running server. On the build side there are the Parcel packages, `@parcel/bundler-default` and `@parcel/compressor-raw`. That gives the architecture. A Colyseus room is the unit of multiplayer space, and the README's own feature list refers to multiple Colyseus rooms and to multiple servers switch support, from room A in server A to room B in server B without notice. The physics engine and the pathfinder run on an authoritative server, which is the phrase that matters for an action RPG, since the client renders a result the server decided. The development dependencies are also telling. `@colyseus/loadtest` at 0.18.3 is the Colyseus load testing tool, and `@playwright/test` at 1.63.0 drives the browser end to end tests. A platform for networked games that ships a load testing tool and browser tests in its own repository is a project that expects to be run under load. The engine constraint in the manifest is a single line worth noting: Node 22.15.0 or newer. ## Three command line entry points The package manifest declares three binaries, and they map onto the three phases of building a game. `reldens` points at `bin/reldens-commands.js`, which is the general command entry point. `reldens-generate` points at `bin/generate.js`, and `reldens-import` at `bin/import.js`. The last two are the ones the feature list refers to when it promises automatic data generators and import commands for attributes, levels, maps and objects, which is how a new game gets content into the database without hand writing inserts. The test scripts show how the project is checked. `test` runs `node tests/manager.js`, `test:default` runs the default suite, and the end to end scripts run `node tests/e2e/run-tests.js` with options for `--clean-output` and `--long`, so there is a shorter and a longer run of the same suite. That combination of a generator, an importer and a web installer is the shape of the whole project. Reldens is opinionated about the pipeline, and the parts it gives you, chat, combat, clans, trading, the admin panel, are the parts a browser MMORPG always ends up needing. ## What the repository contains The top level tells you the shape of the platform. There is `lib/` for the server and shared code, `client.js` and `server.js` as the two entry points, `bin/` for the command line tools, `install/` for the installation machinery, `migrations/` for the database schema history, `generated-entities/` for what the generators produce, `theme/` for the client presentation layer, and `tests/` with the manager, default and e2e suites. There is a `CLAUDE.md` and a `.claude/` directory at the root, which tells you that the project keeps agent instructions in the repository, and a `CODEOWNERS` file is not present here but the contributor table in the README names the owner, plus a second code contributor and an artist. One manifest entry deserves attention. The `source` field is set to `false`, and the `bin` entries point at scripts inside the repository rather than at a published package, so the intended distribution is a project generated from the repository rather than a library you add to a project. The `keywords` list tells you the same thing from the other side, naming reldens, game, mmorpg, rpg, colyseus, phaser, parcel, nodejs, mmo, multiplayer, platform, framework, javascript and script. Support and community run through a Discord channel and an email address, and the README asks for contributions or donations through Ko-fi and Patreon, with the usual disclaimer that contributions are welcome in any form. ## Where the platform fits, and what it costs you The decision to use Reldens is really a decision about which parts of a browser MMORPG you want to own. If you are building a game with chat, inventories, combat, NPC loot, clans, trading and an admin panel, writing all of that is most of the work, and Reldens hands it to you with a configuration surface rather than code. The generator and importer mean a new game can have maps, objects and attributes before you write a line of gameplay logic, and the admin panel means much of the day to day configuration does not need a deploy. The costs are specific. You are adopting a large opinionated codebase, in beta, on the 4.x line, and the version numbering shows how fast it is moving, since the beta counter reached 39 in the 4.0 series. The genre assumptions are baked in, with stats, items, skills, clans and respawn areas, and a game that does not want those is fighting the platform rather than using it. The database defaults to MySQL with other drivers available, so a different storage choice is a decision to check. And the in-game ads integration with CrazyGames and GameMonetize is a business decision to make deliberately rather than a default to accept. The alternative approach is to write the Colyseus server and the Phaser client yourself, which gives complete control over the network model and the game design, and leaves you implementing chat, authentication, persistence, the admin tooling and the content pipeline before you can show anything. For a team that only needs a small co-op game, that is the cheaper path. For a team that has decided on a browser MMORPG, Reldens is closer to the starting line. ## Conclusion Adopt Reldens when you are building a browser MMORPG and would rather start from working chat, inventory, combat, clan and admin systems than write them. Do not adopt it for a small multiplayer game that needs none of that, and do not treat the 4.x beta tag as a stable release. Verify first that the features you need are on the current feature list, that the database driver matches your storage, that the Node version satisfies the requirement of 22.15.0 or newer, and that the in-game ads integration, which is wired to CrazyGames and GameMonetize, is something you want in your game before you ship it. ## FAQ ### What is the Reldens platform built on? Reldens is a JavaScript platform built with Node.js, Parcel, Colyseus and Phaser, integrated with several database engines. The server side uses the Colyseus packages for core, schema, SDK and websocket transport, plus the Colyseus monitor dashboard, and the physics engine and pathfinder run on an authoritative server. ### How do I start a new Reldens project? The README's quick start is to create the project skeleton with `npx reldens createApp`, run `node .` and open the web installer at http://localhost:8080. The full installation guide is on the project site, and the package also exposes `reldens`, `reldens-generate` and `reldens-import` commands for the general entry point, the data generators and the importers. ### What game systems does Reldens already provide? The feature list includes in-game chat with global, room and private messages, an items system with usable items and equipment, attacks with PVP and PVE against players or NPCs, NPCs with respawn areas, teams and clans, a trade system between players and NPCs, drops and rewards, game scores, a physics engine and pathfinder, a gravity world, a sounds system, an optional minimap, guest users, registration with Firebase and multiple servers switch support. ### Is Reldens ready for production? The repository is on the 4.0 beta line, with tags such as 4.0.0-beta.39.9 from 2026-10-05, and the README says the current stage of the platform is tailored for developers. The manifest also requires Node 22.15.0 or newer, and the project is distributed as a generated project rather than a published library. ## Sources - [damian-pastorini/reldens on GitHub](https://github.com/damian-pastorini/reldens) - [License: MIT](https://github.com/damian-pastorini/reldens/blob/master/LICENSE) - [Project website](https://demo.reldens.com/) - [README](https://github.com/damian-pastorini/reldens/blob/master/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/damian-pastorini/reldens/releases) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/damian-pastorini-reldens