Overhaul is a slick new hybrid from Ed 'Ryzed' Ryzhov and Konstantin Groshkov that mixes up match-3 and tower defense to serve up a turbocharged experience to blast away your workaday blues. The backdrops, animations, and SFX are just right and even the atmospheric soundtrack by THESANDS does its job--giving you something to bounce to between enemy waves, and heightening the tension when the battle is on. Overhaul is firing on all cylinders, as will you long after the game is over.
The revolution is here, and it's pink, furry, and packing heat! In this action-packed iOS platformer, players control Belle, a multiarmed gun-weilding alien, in her quest to free her kind from slavery. Making your way safely through the frantic, dangerous levels will require mastery of the tricky controls, but Project 83113 is a beautifully made and fun blast while it lasts.
Robots? Check. Bad guy? Check. Orbital laser and other ridiculously overpowered special attacks? Check check check! Awkward comedic translation?... uhhh... Berzerk Studios serves up an over-the-top arcade shooter complete with a heavy sense of parody, flashy attacks, and just enough frenetic bullet action to spice up your lunch break.
Let's not mince words. Tyrian 2000 was the best PC shoot-em-up of the 90s, and it still holds up remarkably well today. Originally developed as shareware by Eclipse Productions and published by Epic Games, Tyrian 2000 is now available as legit freeware, and every fan of space shooters should check it out. The amount of customization, the hilarious but loving prose, the gorgeous VGA graphics... all of them come together to make a true classic.
We thought we had seen the last of Being One. The nigh-indestructable creature had escaped from the humans who imprisoned him and experimented upon them in their orbital lab, and returned to his people. Now he's back, though, and he's looking for vengeance. But nothing is as it seems in Being One: Episode 5 - Infection, the newest in Psionic's series of horror adventure games. Awesome atmosphere and twisty plotting is hampered by a lack of documentation and an abrupt ending, but all fans of sci-fi horror should love it.
In Sergio Alonso's shiny new bullet hell shooter, Boss Slayer, Ten alien starships have entered the solar system and you have 12 days to destroy these bad boys before they make their final approach to Earth. The game features an array of upgrades, of which each has a clear, immediate effect and it can be a lot of fun to watch your weak little ship transform so quickly into a beefy alien antagonizer. Boss Slayer isn't an innovative game by any means, but it understands the genre perfectly and serves up a smooth, streamlined gameplay experience.
Up for a challenge? In BlockHopper, an innovative puzzle platformer from GreenPixel, you control an adorable little robot named Bit across 35 different levels and landscapes to ultimate victory. But here's the twist: this isn't just some run-of-the mill, jump over static platforms to victory kind of game. Instead, you control the placement of platforms in the form of many different and ingenious blocks, each with their own separate logic and mechanics. This game features some cute graphic and a great soundtrack by Starship Amazing, but don't kid yourself, this game is hard. VERY HARD. To win, you'll have to think outside the block.
A good story is great, but sometimes you just want to blow stuff up. In DN8: Pulse, a new shooter game from Squize, you are the commander of a puny little fighter who has to fight off swarms of enemy vessels if you want to survive. If you make it past the initial waves, you'll have the chance to upgrade your ship with extra shields, weapons, and even support pods and there are two upgrade paths, defensive and offensive. The clear selling point of DN8: Pulse are the graphics, done in Stage3D, which are unlike most anything you've seen in a flash game. The visuals are in a word, stunning. And it's a lot of fun to play a shoot-em-up that leaves the conventional retro pixelated setting and dares to take it to the farthest reaches of the universe for a truly immersive experience.
We are not alone. Life has been discovered on Mars, but it's nothing like we ever expected to encounter. In this gorgeous, one-of-a-kind moody action adventure game for iOS, you'll journey deep into the red planet and uncover the secrets buried within its soil. Discover new life forms and challenging puzzles that force you to use the environment to your advantage as you help the planet grow... and ultimately decide its fate.
Want a solid retro arcade shooter? ASCII and you'll receive Battle for Asciion, by Relevo Video Games. Designed with a lot of love for its textual aesthetic, Battle for Asciion is a solid and challenging shoot-em-up, though hampered by its required button-mashing.
You'll have to battle it out against spiders, scorpions, beetles, and all manner of creepy crawlies if you are going to survive this action-packed new tower defense game by Tofee Games. It pushes the limits of both casual and flash gaming in creating a stylish and professionally made free game that will have you playing and strategizing for days beyond that initial lunch break session.
Eggstinction, an action run-and-gun shooter by Michael Chen, stars a proto-dinosaur fighting back against the laser-happy aliens who wish to poach him. Quality visuals, hardcore survival gameplay and aggressively silliness make for a game quite reminiscent of the Heli Attack series. Except, you know. With dinosaurs fighting aliens.
Theo's been working in the slave mines for years, and has finally saved up enough to buy a cruiser. Now, if he can just shoot his way through this orbiting traffic, he'll be ready to start his new life. Originally conceived by Christopher T. Rock, with later additional development by Bryson Whiteman, Rush Hour Plus is a short but solid arcade game. It's bifurcated development is apparent in the differing styles of cut-scenes and game action, but it has a nice dose of humor and is the perfect length for a coffee break.
Sometimes a game doesn't need to reinvent a genre to be just as fun, addictive, and riddled with bullets as we want it to be. In this classic-styled top-down sci-fi shooter, pilot a tiny spaceship against increasingly impossible odds, bigger bosses, and catch coins to purchase upgrades to help your chances. It's familiar, but well polished, and just the right size for some explosive coffee-break arcade carnage.
Jonas Kyratzes has brought us many enjoyable, thoughtful games in bizarre, surreal settings. Well, now he's developed a top-down space shooter, Traitor. Don't get scared, he's still able to cast his powers of storytelling, it's just in a different yummy, gooey, science fiction package. Take on missions to earn credits for upgrades as well as the trust of the rebels. Your ultimate goal: to take down the Augustan Hegemony. Viva la People's Council!
An entertainingly spacey physics arcade golf game from Krang Games, with the distinguishing gimmick being that you can hit the ball again once it's in motion. Not quite a revolution, but a lot of fun.
Blast aliens on Planet Blirp, an sidescrolling action shooter from Helmet Games. A very familiar kind of game, though its variety of mission objectives and humorous storyline separate it from the pack. An emphasis on grinding and a steep learning curve mar the experience, but overall it is a solid time-waster.
Hot Tub Heist is a gloriously silly action arcade game from Beef Jack Studios. It stars a speedo-clad body-builder who must abandon his daily GTL routine, so that he may battle through a collapsing high rise, to reach the safety of the alien-proof subway below. Hot Tub Heist is goofy, but its constant race to the bottom is a compelling premise.
After thousands of years, the Mugunghwa, sent into space to establish the first interstellar colony, has been found floating dead. You're sent after it to discover what happened to its crew with the help of two very different AIs, but the truth is vastly more complicated than you might think, and nowhere near black and white. In Christine Love's debut commercial visual novel release, take part in a captivating, clever, and emotional story that deals with love, politics, forgiveness... and hate.
Mission in Space: The Lost Colony is an extremely customizable turn-based strategy game with an easy-to-use interface and variety of challenges that will please players of any skill level. Plus it has a valuable lesson about the dangers of ventilation ducts. Spoiler alert: they contain aliens.
The character of Rinse Games' arena shooter, Mr Gunface, probably heard lots of name calling when it was younger, but now that it's all grown up, it's set to fight! You control the gunface drone to save the planet against the Zenoba invasion by shooting the many guns on its face (surprise). With endless upgrades to your arsenal and 30 levels to battle through, it's up to you whether or not this ends in glorious victory. Either way, prepare yourself for a trip to the principal's office cause drones fight dirty!
BUGS. Who needs 'em? Especially face-eating, acid-spitting, lurking-in-dimly-lit-corridor-ing bugs! Those are the worst! Blast you way through hordes of enemies in this atmospheric horror shooter that contains a lot of familiar elements, but also one very well done presentation. Upgrade weapons, complete challenges, and maybe even find out the secret of the cryptic "Owl Men"... they're so very hungry...
Those darn emo kids have accidentally summoned a horde of alien-zombies to destroy the city! Who should we call? The police? A dashing bandit? A Victorian-era, impressively side-burned gentleman thief? A redneck in a trucker's hat? Jason Vorhees? Well, all are options in Random Heroes, the new platformer from Woblyware. Random Heroes is a solid run-jump-and-shoot action game with a very cool aesthetic design that goes very well with its parallax scrolling effects.
Xenos is a new form of energy discovered in the 22nd century. It's being used for evil, however, and as our giant robot hero Asterus it's your job to make things right by destroying all the Xenos generators in this arcade action title from Oddity Games.
Aliens everywhere, and Sigourney Weaver is nowhere to be found! Looks like it's up to you and a few of your power-suited buddies to stop them in this good-looking turn-based strategy game. Deal with hostile and increasingly intelligent beasts while commanding a squad of soldiers you can level up and customise to your liking.
Raze 2 by AddisonR and Juice-Tin is the latest in a long line of action shooters with spacey-marines and/or one-word non-indicative titles. Let's count them off: Doom, Quake, Halo, Descent, Unreal, and, uh... Haze. It's surprising there are any alien-demon-zombie menaces left to battle considering how quickly we're able to deploy a near-endless supply of Master Chiefs. It's a good thing then that Raze 2 has the quality gameplay and presentation to distinguish itself from the competition.
Don't you just hate when you wake up and find out that the sun is exploding? Yeah, me too. What with the shock waves of the supernova and the imminent threat of incineration, it just about ruins your whole day. Then you have to pack up everything into the family rocket ship and blast from world to world in your solar system, and because of the ever-approaching wall of flame, there's no time for sight-seeing. All you can do is try to stay one step ahead of the heat-death. Such is the premise of Run from the Sun, by FreakyZoid. And considering the title, it's kind of ironic that it's a game you'll want to run towards as quickly as possible.
Visual novel meets shooter meets RPG meets space opera meets awesome in this unusual hybrid from Anonymous D Studios. After decades of skirmishes and violent protests, the battles between the pirates and the Federation appears to be heating up, and one young pilot finds himself in the middle of it. Strike out on an hours long adventure that combines drama, romance, and fast-paced arcade action in this impressive game.
Nerdook goes intergalactic with this cute, simple to learn RTS-lite title that stars you as a bounty hunter traveling from planet to planet deploying your robot army in an effort to bring The Bad Guys(tm) to justice. Build and upgrade your army as you take on the worst the galaxy has to offer in this clever little hybrid.
Life in the Gemini galaxy isn't easy; war has left its mark on the lives of the people within it, but most of them are more concerned with the all-seeing eyes of the Boryokuden, a crime syndicate that seems to operate outside the law and swiftly deals with any opposition. In this top-notch adventure game, you play as Azriel Odin, a detective on the streets of New Pittsburgh, and Delta-Six, an amnesiac test subject stuck in a sinister training facility, and attempt to stay alive while you uncover a conspiracy that might hit closer to home than you suspect.
If there's one sci-fi rank that has the highest level of awesome associated with it, it's "commander". Some of the greatest protagonists of all space-time have it appended to their name: Riker, Sisko, Adama... Keen. So it's only fitting that when puzzle-master Johnathan May chooses to surprise us with rocking a vertical-side-scrolling space shooter, that he should dub it Cosmic Commander. And let me tell you, it has a challenge more than worthy of its station.
When there's trouble in the galaxy, it's up to you to save the day as part of an elite group of mercenaries in this turn-based tactical sci-fi RPG from Toge Productions. Play alone or with a group of Facebook Friends as a Squad, cracking down on aliens and other trouble in order to level up your character. Featuring easy to pick up gameplay and a lot of polish, Planetary Conflict is a fantastic game best experienced with friends.
The pixel world inside your computer needs your help in this top-down retro shooter from Irsperanza. Customize your tank and weapons as you mow down wave after wave of enemies. If you might enjoy enjoy skulking around an arena, dodging bullets, seeking out waves of baddies, and upgrading a puny starter tank into a mighty juggernaut, Shoot Pixels will make for some high quality low-rez action.
Apokalyx is a turn-based RPG with a heavy focus on combat. Set 600 years after an apocalyptic event, you'll create a character and start fighting your way to being the top gladiator. Apokalyx works just as well in small doses as it does for long sessions of play. If you want a turn-based combat heavy RPG then this will keep you busy for a very long time.
Join the fight against an evil space corporation in this top-down space action game, where your ship is armed to the teeth with weapons, shields, and other goodies to blast away at everything that shoots back. And it's in space!
The starship Hermes was supposed to revolutionise space travel. Instead it found something in the dark that it never should have let inside. As security officer Hermes, board the silent ship and discover what happened to the crew in this unsettling but flawed action/horror/platforming title.
Crush your foes in turn-based strategic sci-fi combat in this engaging game from Indigon. Choose one of three distinct races, each with their own campaign, in the race to uncover a secret unearthed in a far corner of the galaxy. Hoard your energy to build ships while guarding your warp gate and ultimately be the last one standing in this unique, addictive game of strategy.
Check out this port of the arcade classic Asteroids by Doug McInnes. If you've never played Asteroids, or an Asteroids-like game, the goal is to pilot your deltoid spacecraft around the void of space, blasting large lumbering asteroids into smaller, faster, projectile-like asteroids, then blasting those into dust before they breach your hull and destroy you. Destroy or be destroyed is the only law against the impersonal Astroids.
Arm yourself with the experimental Omega cannon in this hybrid defense/shooter/resource management game as you struggle to defend your base from hostile invaders. Gather what you need to bolster your defenses, and unlock new technology to help combat the threat. From typically high-action developer Lucidrine comes a slower and more strategic title set in the great beyond.
Genu is back and wants his revenge! Who's Genu? Who cares! It's another excuse to pilot overpowered, flashy spaceships against legions of enemies in this fast-paced shooter full of big bosses, big upgrades, and big fun. While not quite perfect, it's an enjoyable and challenging space adventure for every fan of lasers.
Hostile Spawn is a top-down arcade shooter similar to Robokill in design. Move through a sci-fi setting grabbing weapons and taking out aliens with your mad skills. Although it's similar to other games in the genre, Hostile Spawn has a strong emphasis on exploration, carving itself a nice cozy niche amongst its brothers.
Strap on your lasers in this sequel to 2008's Robokill as you're forced to make an emergency landing aboard a suspiciously silent space station. Shoot down waves of enemies, buy upgrades, and above all else, stay alive as you delve deeper into the mystery. If Holmes had death robots at his disposal, he totally would have used them instead of Watson.
A unique blend of defense, action, arcade, and even physics genres results in this tasty new game from developer veteran Tyler Glaiel. Use the forces of attraction to protect your fledgling new world from incoming attackers by sending them hurtling towards one another. The action is fast, the gameplay is clever, and, perhaps best of all, you get to call yourself an environmentalist now. Congratulations!
It's a blast from the past in this remake of and tribute to the original M.U.L.E., one of the great pioneers of multiplayer gaming. Stake your claim on an alien world with three friends and make the best of your time and resources to come out on top at the end of the game. Just remember to keep an eye out for the wampus.
Ah, with Halloween fast approaching it's time to turn to escape games with a more atmospheric nature. How about a game set in an eerily empty hospital? Endless Anesthesia is fun, atmospheric casual gameplay. Arm yourself, take a deep breath, and get ready to escape!
The fourth and final chapter in the Being One series. Taken separately, each chapter of Being One has been a little gem of horror-filled casual gameplay, combining all of the above elements into an interesting, mysterious, serialized tale. Now that tale has come to an end. Was it worth the journey? That is up to the player to decide.
Titanium Chef is a point-and-click adventure in which you play a lowly chef-bot who, along with his best friend Moxie (a floating pink ball of fur), escapes his humdrum job and ventures out to become the best chef-bot in the galaxy. Setting aside the education aspect, this is one amazing, fun point-and-click adventure with a snarky sense of humor.
Abuba is most definitely not ready to survive in the hostile environment that is suburbia. Cold, hungry, tired and scared after crash landing, Abuba just wants to go home and it is up to you in this short and cute point-and-click adventure from Pencilkids. Take a casual gameplay break and help get Abuba home! Abuba say thank you. And so do we.
If you are looking for a break from the standard RTS fare, or just want to play through a really well-made game, then look no further than Shadez II: Battle for Earth. This 2D side-scrolling title is extraordinarily well-made from top to bottom, providing enough strategy, explosions, and alien killing machines to keep most RTS fans busy for some time.
More door locks to figure out? Check. More machinery to fiddle with, hoping to not blow up the place? Check. Annoying cell phone still telling you what to do? Check. Yet another really ticked off creature from beyond ready to rip you to shreds? Uh, why in the world did we leave that lovely, peaceful green vat again?
Colony is a tribute to Starcraft from Jakrin "Krin" Juangbhanich, the developer behind the successful Sonny series. Crush your opponent's base with soldiers, tanks, helicopters, and walking mechs, while a computer-controlled AI acts as your partner and even speaks with you through a chat box. Plus, online multi-player!
Searching for her twin sister who vanished while exploring an enormous mechanical cube discovered in space, Rua ventures deeper into enemy territory with her companion Cedric and quickly finds herself in over her head in this stylish, fast-paced shooter. Upgrade your abilities, increase your proficiency, buy new weapons, and discover new ships while you try to stay alive long enough to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of Rua's sister.
Deeper, darker, and lots more bloodridden (thus living up to its title?), with Episode 2 the plot sickens. Will all the episodes eventually be strung together to make a cohesive narrative? Will the next episode be longer and more involved? Will you ever get out of this creepy lab? Only Psionic knows and he's not telling...
Just escaped from a transparent capsule filled with viscous green fluid, aided by texts from an unknown benefactor, trapped in a laboratory full of disturbing experiments, you must point-and-click your way to freedom. This short adventure from the author of Ghostscape keeps things dark and foreboding.
Defend yourself against waves of foes in space, where a click of the mouse unleashes massive explosions to decimate enemy fighters, because making peace is overrated when you have a limitless supply of missiles at your fingertips.
Zeebarf, the author of Reemus and The Visitor, brings us a fully-explored sci-fi world in classic point-and-click adventure game style. From the nuances of animation to the excellent puzzles to the rich storytelling, A Small Favor is one of the best adventures available for your browser.
When your spaceship crash-lands onto an unknown desert planet, you regain consciousness to find yourself one of the only survivors. Red Herring Games presents an incredibly polished point-and-click adventure game that has to be seen to be believed.
Robokill is an extremely well-polished shooter game that's as fun to play as it is easy to learn. You play the role of a mercenary robot hired to investigate and eradicate the hostile forces that have taken over Titan Prime, a space station orbiting Mars. On the order of Crimsonland, and if you've never heard of Crimsonland or the RIP series (top-down [WASD] shooters), you're in for a treat.
Brain Cell is the brain child of Ryan Gibson for the U.K.-based development team DESQ, an organization devoted to the development of Web-based and digital learning projects. In a recent attempt to contribute to casual gaming, DESQ released Brain Cell in the hopes of enhancing your typical room escape game and taking it to the next level. In many ways, it succeeds; featuring a gorgeous (yet bandwidth-intensive) take on the usual point-and-click, room escape genre.
Floatpoint is a sci-fi themed interactive fiction game by Emily Short that walked away with first prize in the 2006 Interactive Fiction Competition. You play the role of an ambassador on a mission to a cold, icy planet called Alehart. Humans colonized the world ages ago, but an advancing glacier threatens to overtake the city and eradicate its inhabitants. As you try to negotiate a deal to bring the colonists back to Earth, a web of mysteries begins to unfold itself. This might not be an easy job after all.
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