Starling Drift
Thrust · Blast · Survive
The game loads when you press play.
- Free
- No ads
- No account needed
- No install — plays in your browser
About the game
Fly a courier skiff down an asteroid belt: drag to steer, the cannon fires itself, and every sector is faster than the last. Shoot the drone swarms that flock like starlings, and pick your camera: side, chase or close.
The Starling is a one-seat courier skiff and the belt does not care. Press anywhere and drag: she moves with your finger, so your thumb never hides her; let go and she holds her line. Hold a phone upright and the belt comes down the long side of the screen. The nose cannon fires on its own along whatever line you are pointing, so aiming is flying. Large drift-rocks burst into three smaller ones when hit, which is either a gift or a problem depending on where you are.
The belt is divided into sectors, and the bar at the top shows how far across this one you are. Every sector is faster and busier than the last and brings something new: crystals, hunter drones, armoured hulks, and drone swarms that fly the way starlings do - each drone follows its seven nearest neighbours, so the whole flock turns as one and ripples apart when you close in. Touch anything and it costs one of three lives; the skiff comes back shielded and your score carries over. Switch the camera at any time between the classic side view, a chase view behind the skiff and a close view down at the tail.
Built for in-flight entertainment: one self-contained file, no network of any kind, eleven languages detected automatically, and full gamepad support alongside touch.
How to play
- The Starling fires forward on its own, along the nose. Aim by tilting — the ship points where it moves.
- Shoot a large drift-rock and it bursts into three smaller ones. Clear them before they reach you.
- Touching a rock — or flying off the top or bottom of the viewport — costs a life. Lose them all and the run is over.
- Tougher targets are worth more, every swarm drone is a point, and crossing a sector adds a bonus. The run is endless; how far you get is up to you.
- The bar at the top shows how far across this sector you are. Every sector is faster and busier than the last and brings something new: crystals, drone swarms, hunter drones, armoured hulks.
- A swarm flies like a flock of starlings: each drone follows its seven nearest neighbours, so the whole flock turns as one and ripples apart when you close in. Each drone you hit is a point; destroy a whole swarm for a bonus. Touching one costs a life.
- Change the view with the camera button beside pause, the C key, or View on a gamepad: Side, Chase or Close. Your choice is remembered.
Controls
| Touch | press anywhere and drag to steer; the skiff moves with your finger and holds its line when you let go. |
|---|---|
| Mouse | press anywhere and drag to steer; the skiff moves with your finger and holds its line when you let go. |
| Keyboard | Arrow keys or WASD steer, C or V changes the camera, Esc or P pauses, M toggles sound. |
| Gamepad | left stick or D-pad to steer, B to go back, Y to restart, Start or X to quit to the menu. |
