Swarm Dive

Hold the bottom of the screen as alien formations peel off and dive-bomb you in screaming arcs.

How to play

Aliens assemble into a formation overhead, then break ranks to swoop down at you in diving runs, firing as they come. Slide your ship across the bottom and shoot them on the way down. The boss alien can snare your ship with a tractor beam — destroy it to free your captured craft and fly with doubled firepower.

• Pick off divers as they arc toward you; the formation is most dangerous mid-dive.
• Up to two of your shots can be on screen at once, so make them count.
• Free a tractor-beamed ship by shooting the boss to fight with double guns.

Controls

• Desktop: Left/Right or A/D (or drag) to move, Space or the FIRE button to shoot.
• Phone & tablet: drag to move and tap the FIRE button — fully touch-supported.

Tips & strategy

• Strafe under divers and shoot upward; standing still makes you an easy strafing target.
• Risk the tractor beam intentionally — reclaiming your ship doubles your firepower.
• Thin the formation while it's still assembling so fewer enemies can dive at once.

Origins

Swarm Dive revisits the fixed-shooter classic that refined the alien-invasion formula in 1981 — formations of insectoid foes peel off to dive and strafe, and a captured ship can be rescued to fight as a twin. Its diving attacks and bonus stages made it a golden-age favorite.

About Swarm Dive

Swarm Dive is an original take on the diving-formation fixed-screen shooter genre, free to play instantly in your browser.

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