Swarmoids
You are not the ship. You are the swarm. Steer a living flock of swarmoids through asteroid fields, enemy fleets and giant bosses.
A swarm for a spaceship
Swarmoids is a fast arcade shooter in the spirit of the classics, rebuilt around flocking. Your swarm follows the cursor, every swarmoid is a bullet waiting to be fired, and every swarmoid you lose is health. Shoot, fly back through your own shots to recover them, and keep the flock alive.
Your health is your ammo
Fire swarmoids at rocks and ships, then sweep them back up. Lose too many to a hit and the swarm thins out. Greed has a price.
Bosses every five levels
Shielded wardens, ramming hulls, rock mothers and a final Nemesis. Every boss has phases, weak points and a veteran version when it returns.
Asteroids with attitude
Sixteen kinds of rock plus enemy ships and environmental hazards. Powerups reshape your swarm, with slow-motion blasts and chain reactions.
Co-op, local and online
Share the screen with a friend, or fly together online. Both machines run the same simulation, so the fight stays in sync.
Swarms to unlock
Twenty-four swarms with their own stats and special moves, earned by clearing levels, finding achievements and celebrating holidays.
Visual cheats
Unlock an 8-bit look and a vector-arcade look by playing. They are just for fun and never touch the leaderboards.
Gameplay
Real footage captured from the game. No sound on these clips.
Screenshots
Captured from the game. Click for full size.
Pick your swarm
Each swarm flies differently. Bulwark is tough and starts with a shield. Dart is fast and can dash. Legion hits bosses hard and can teleport. Nemesis is earned by beating the level 30 boss. There are twenty more to earn, from Frostbite and Void to seasonal swarms that appear around holidays.
- Swarms differ in size, speed, fire rate, damage taken and a special move (dash or teleport).
- Unlock them by clearing levels, earning achievements, or playing during the right season.
- Twenty-nine achievements, with Epic Games achievement support.
At a glance
- Game
- Swarmoids
- Developer
- Neo-Retro Games
- Genre
- Arcade shooter, action, co-op
- Players
- 1 player, 2-player local and online co-op
- Platforms
- PC first (Windows). Planned: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android
- Input
- Mouse and keyboard, or gamepad
- Stores
- Epic Games Store and Steam, coming soon
- Status
- In development
- Contact
- michael@neo-retro.com
FAQ
When does it come out?
There is no date yet. Swarmoids is in development. Follow the news by emailing us and we will tell you when the store pages go live.
Which platforms?
PC comes first, on the Epic Games Store and Steam. We plan to bring Swarmoids to PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android as well. These are plans, not announcements, and there are no dates yet.
Does it support controllers?
Yes. Mouse and keyboard and gamepads are both supported, including in co-op.
Can I play with a friend?
Yes, on the same screen or online. Online play uses Epic Online Services.
Is there a demo or a playtest?
Small invite-only playtests happen now and then. Email us if you would like to be considered.
Can I stream or make videos of it?
Yes, please do. You may monetise videos and streams of Swarmoids. See the press page for images and logos.
What data does the game collect?
Very little. See the privacy policy for exactly what, in plain language.