Skimmer

Streak across a wrapping planetary surface, blast alien landers, and rescue the humanoids they snatch.

How to play

You fly a fast ship along a continuously wrapping planet. Alien landers descend to grab the humanoids on the ground and haul them skyward — if one reaches the top, it becomes a deadly mutant. Shoot the landers, catch falling humanoids, and set them back down to keep the surface alive.

• Fly in both directions to patrol the whole wrapping world.
• Destroy a lander carrying a humanoid, then catch the falling person and lower them safely.
• Lose all your humanoids and the surface turns into a swarm of mutants.

Controls

• Desktop: Left/Right or A/D to fly and reverse, Up/Down to climb and dive, Space to fire, B for a smart bomb, H for hyperspace, P to pause. Keyboard recommended.
• Phone & tablet: keyboard play recommended — this fast shooter needs many distinct inputs.

Tips & strategy

• Patrol proactively — intercept landers before they reach a humanoid rather than chasing abductions.
• Save smart bombs for the moment the screen swarms with mutants.
• Catch a dropped humanoid immediately; a falling person dies if they hit the ground.

Origins

Skimmer is a tribute to the fast side-scrolling defense shooter of 1980 — patrol a wrapping planet, gun down alien landers and catch the humanoids they try to abduct, all while reading a long-range scanner. Famously demanding, it set the bar for arcade intensity.

About Skimmer

Skimmer is an original take on the horizontal-scrolling rescue shooter genre, free to play instantly in your browser.

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