A fast fixed-screen arcade shoot ’em up with run-building. Beat a boss, draft an upgrade, fuse your build. 30 ships, captured fighters to rescue, colossal bosses to dismantle, 100 achievements and separate Steam leaderboards for Arcade and Onslaught. Save any run mid-flight.

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About This Game

READ THE SWARM. BUILD YOUR FIREPOWER. PUSH FURTHER.

Slip through a closing wall of bullets. Break the weapon pinning you down. Watch a towering fortress collapse around its reactor.

Nova Swarm is a fast fixed-screen shoot ’em up that combines arcade action, evolving ship builds and a strange galaxy full of surprises. Learn the warning, find the opening and decide what needs to be destroyed first. Turn the lessons from your last defeat into your next personal best.

BUILD YOUR SHIP. SHAPE YOUR RUN.

Defeat a boss in Arcade Tactical and choose one of three upgrades for the rest of your run.

Strengthen your weapons, improve handling, reinforce your defences or build around support drones. Upgrades can stack, evolve and combine into Fusion protocols. Combine the right drone upgrades, for example, to add converging crossfire to your support wing.

Your starting ship provides the foundation. Your choices shape what it becomes.

Three upgrade choices after a boss victory; Blink Drive completes the Rift Crossfire Fusion.

CHANGE THE BATTLE WITH YOUR SHOTS

Free captured fighters and bring allies into the fight. Destroy a rival’s guns to silence its attacks. Break shield projectors, cut dangerous machinery loose and expose vulnerable cores.



Face strange Veilborn visitors and segmented Space Snakes. Learn their movements and attack patterns, and choose when to press your advantage.

Take on Planetfall, a colossal orbital fortress. Dismantle its outer structure or strike the core when its shutters open, and bring it down in a rolling collapse of armour and machinery.

The player ship faces Planetfall, a vast orbital fortress with shielded anchors surrounding its reactor.

30 SHIPS TO DISCOVER AND MASTER

Begin with three ships and unlock the rest of a 30-ship fleet as your pilot career develops.

Explore precision cannons, sweeping spread fire, drone specialists and nimble interceptors. Different weapons, handling and traits give each hull its own strengths and tradeoffs. Find your favourite, then try a ship that makes you approach the swarm differently.

CHOOSE YOUR CHALLENGE

  • Arcade Tactical: Start from the beginning and build your run through boss victories and upgrade choices.
  • Onslaught Tactical: Face immediate pressure. Choose three starting upgrades and launch into Sector 51, with a separate Steam leaderboard to climb.
  • Arcade Pure and Onslaught Pure: Test your flying and shooting without drafted upgrades.
  • Daily Signal: Fly the same daily ship with the same route theme and rules as every other pilot.
  • Scout Run: Learn patterns and experiment at a gentler pace.
  • Sector Run: Practise deeper encounters from earned checkpoints.

SAVE YOUR RUN. CHASE THE LIST.

Any run can be saved mid-flight and picked up later. New pilots learn the ropes in Swarm School, a short tutorial sector with a live instructor. Then climb separate Steam leaderboards for Arcade and Onslaught and work through 100 Steam achievements.

A GALAXY WITH PERSONALITY

Between the firefights, cosmic creatures drift past and unexpected scenes unfold around you.

Discover 60 Cabinet Wonders: strange sights with stories to uncover, from ghost fleets to living constellations. Explore the mystery of The Cabinet, an arcade machine that watches your career.

Advance pilot ranks, complete Pilot Orders and expand your Threat Codex. Detailed Run Reports help you understand what happened and prepare for the next attempt.

CONTROLS AND COMFORT

Play with a keyboard or controller. Adjust interface size, Reduced Motion, screen shake and flash intensity, with separate controls for music, voices and sound effects. Voice commentary can be turned down or switched off.

Another ship. Another build. Another chance to beat your best.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

Generative AI tools were used during development to assist with some code, visual assets, and English voice and audio content. The game's design, selection, editing, integration, balancing, testing, and final creative decisions are handled and reviewed by the developer before release.

System Requirements

    Minimum:
    • OS: Windows 10
    • Processor: Intel Core i3 or equivalent
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: DirectX 11 compatible GPU
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Storage: 1 GB available space
    • Sound Card: Any
    • Additional Notes: Keyboard or controller recommended.
    Recommended:
    • OS: Windows 10 or Windows 11
    • Processor: Intel Core i5 or equivalent
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: DirectX 11 compatible GPU
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Storage: 1 GB available space
    • Sound Card: Any
    • Additional Notes: Controller recommended for best experience.
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