How to Play and Controls
VOID STRIKER is a retro-style shooter played in a 480 by 640 portrait screen. It is fully playable with either a keyboard or touch controls on a smartphone. This guide covers everything from basic controls to scoring systems.
Basic Rules
Move your ship in four directions, avoid enemy bullets, and destroy enemies with the shots fired automatically in front of you. Each stage contains 16 to 22 enemy waves. Once all waves are cleared, the screen flashes red with a WARNING sequence and the boss appears. Defeat the boss to clear the stage and advance. Stages continue without limit, with enemies becoming tougher, faster, and more aggressive as you progress. See Difficulty Scaling for details.
Keyboard Controls
| Action | Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Move | ↑↓←→ or WASD | Moves your ship. Diagonal movement has the same speed. |
| Fire | Z / Space | Hold to fire continuously. Also confirms selections on screens such as the title. |
| Bomb | X | Uses a bomb, as described below. |
| Focus | Shift | Precision mode: movement slows from 260px/s to 130px/s and shot spread is halved. |
| Pause | P / Esc | Pauses during play. |
| Start / Confirm | Enter | Starts from the title or restarts after game over. |
| Mute | M | Toggles sound on or off at any time. |
Touch Controls (Smartphones and Tablets)
Drag a finger across the game canvas and your ship follows by the same distance. Shots fire automatically while the first finger remains on the screen, so you can concentrate on positioning. Tap with a second finger to use a bomb. On the title and game-over screens, tap anywhere to start. You can tap START, HANGAR, CODE, or OPTION directly on the title menu. Pause and focus mode are keyboard-only controls.
Power-ups and Items
Destroyed enemies occasionally drop items. An item is pulled toward your ship within 60px and collected within 24px.
- P (Power): Raises weapon level by one, up to level 4. Worth 500 bonus points at maximum power.
- B (Bomb): Adds one bomb, up to a maximum stock of six.
- L (Life): Adds one life, up to a maximum of six.
- G (Gem): Awards 300 points immediately.
Your weapon grows from 2-way to 3-way, then 3-way with rear side shots, and finally 5-way with side shots. Fire rate also increases at level 4. Focus mode halves the spread angle for more precise aiming. Your equipped skin can further change fire rate and bullet damage; see the Skin and Weapon Catalog.
Bombs
Press X to gain three seconds of invulnerability, clear every enemy bullet on screen for 10 points each, and deal 60 damage to every visible enemy and the boss. Bombs are most effective as a last resort when bullet patterns become dense.
Graze, Combo, and Extend
A graze occurs when an enemy bullet passes within 14px of your ship's center, awarding 50 points and producing sparks around the ship. It is a risk-and-reward mechanic for experienced players who fly close to danger.
Each defeated enemy increases your combo, up to x16. Higher combos multiply the score earned per enemy. The combo has a two-second grace period; defeat another enemy before it expires to continue the chain. Keeping up the attack is central to high scores.
Your first extend grants one life at 20,000 points. Further lives are awarded every 50,000 points.
Title Menu
The title screen offers START to begin play, HANGAR to purchase and equip skins or themes, CODE to view or enter referral codes, and OPTION for sound and effect settings. See Credits and Referral Codes for how to spend credits earned in play and how referral codes work.