Godot Top-Down Controller

A top-down character that only walks feels flat. This controller adds the pieces that make it feel responsive. Aim follows the mouse, the dash is one you can rely on, and the camera looks where you aim.

Free Godot 4.7 project · MIT licensed · v1.0.0

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A knight moving, aiming a sword at the mouse and dashing, leaving an afterimage trail.

What is in it

8-direction movement on a CharacterBody2D, the Godot node for a character you move from code. Diagonals are not faster.
Mouse aim. The weapon points at the cursor and the body turns to face it.
A dash in your movement direction, or toward the mouse when you stand still.
I-frames during the dash: a short window where the player cannot be hurt.
Dash juice: an afterimage trail, a stretch before the dash and a squash after it.
A follow camera that leans toward your aim, with shake, kick and zoom punch you can call from any script.
Every tuning number is exported, so you can adjust it in the Inspector while the game runs.

Quick start

Download the project from GitHub and unzip it. In the Godot Project Manager, click Import and pick the project.godot file inside the folder.

Press F5.
Move with WASD and aim with the mouse.
Dash with Space.
Select the Player node, change move_speed or dash_speed in the Inspector, and run again.

The README on GitHub explains how each part works and how to copy it into your own game.

Compatibility and limits

Made for: Godot 4.7, standard build. GDScript only, no .NET needed.
Tested on: Godot 4.7.2 stable, on Windows. Earlier versions of Godot 4 are untested. Uses the Mobile renderer, which needs Vulkan, Direct3D 12 or Metal.
Renderer: Mobile
Code license: MIT. You can use it in commercial games. Read the license
Art and fonts: Knight and sword sprites from Kenney's Tiny Dungeon pack (CC0 1.0).
Release: v1.0.0, commit 856168f, published 2026-10-03

Known limits

Keyboard and mouse only. Aiming with a right stick needs a few extra lines.
The demo arena has no walls, so collision is not shown.
The i-frames are a flag. Nothing in this project damages the player until your own damage code reads it.
There is no sound.

Learn to build it

Copying a system works until you need to change it. These quests build it with you, one small step at a time. You write the GDScript in your browser and each step is checked before you move on.