Clear ten waves of the hive to win, in two sectors of five; each sector ends in a boss. After each wave you pick one of three upgrades, and they stack for the rest of the run, so no two runs build the same way. Every hit in a row raises your combo multiplier, up to x8; a shot that misses resets it, so aim rather than spray. Lose your last life, or let the formation reach your row, and the run is over.
Sector 1 is the outer hive and ends with the Brood Mother. Past it is sector 2: a redder sky, faster and busier formations, and Splitters that break in two when they die. It ends with the Hive Mind.
Four bunkers float above your ship. They stop shots from both sides, so the aliens can shoot through them and so can you, and every hit chews a piece away. Your own shots erode your cover too, so don't fire into it for nothing. Fresh bunkers rise at the start of each sector.
Before wave 1 you pick one Special for the run: you start with Pulse Bomb and Shield Burst, and milestones unlock more (see Unlocks on the title screen, which also lists new ships and upgrades). Kills and boss parts fill its five-cell meter, faster at a high combo. When it reads READY, fire it for a burst moment: a shockwave that wipes the field, three untouchable seconds, or a freeze on everything but you. Then the meter starts again.
Aliens sometimes drop a glowing pickup, and Carriers always do. Catch it with your ship for a few seconds of Spread shot, Laser, Time slow or a Helper drone. A timer chip shows how long is left; catching the same kind again resets its clock.
Some picks are rare: a gold border and a stronger effect, like a Wingman drone. One rare is guaranteed on the pick after a boss, and they can turn up in other offers too.
Hold the right pair of upgrades and they combine into something stronger. A card that would complete a pair says so, for example "completes LANCE", and a banner announces the moment it clicks.
The last boss hides its core inside a turning ring of shield segments. Shots that hit the ring are wasted, so aim through the gaps. Later it fires beams, shown as a dashed warning line first: get behind a bunker, which blocks them. When the ring breaks, the core comes for you.
Your unlock progress as a code. Keep it somewhere safe; Restore progress brings it back on any device.
Paste a backup code.
That code isn't valid.
Erase every saved record? This cannot be undone. Sound settings are kept.
Replace your progress?
The unlocks and totals on this device are replaced by the ones in the code. This cannot be undone.
No runs yet. Finish one and it lands here.
locked ships show what unlocks them
tap a card · d-pad + A · arrows + Enter
kills fill the meter · fire with X · B / LT · touch button
tap a card · d-pad + A · arrows + Enter
tap a card · d-pad + A · arrows + Enter