How to play Sky Lords Retro
You fly a small yellow jet up a winding river. Enemy jets and helicopters cross your path, and red fuel tanks float on the water. Shoot the enemies to score points, fly over the tanks to refuel, and stay clear of the green riverbanks: touching one destroys your plane. You have three lives, and your best score is saved in your browser.
- Keyboard: arrow keys or A / D to steer, Space to fire, Up and Down to change your speed.
- Phone or tablet: drag your finger to steer. The jet fires automatically while you touch the screen.
- Scoring: 100 points for a jet, 80 for a fuel tank, 60 for a helicopter.
About the 8-bit look
This mode is a tribute to the vertical shooters of the early home-console era, such as River Raid (Activision, 1982). The game is drawn on a tiny 160 by 192 pixel screen that is scaled up, and every sound is a simple beep made by the browser, so the whole game is a single small file that loads instantly.
Tips for a higher score
- Watch your fuel gauge. When it turns red and starts beeping, look for the next red tank.
- Do not shoot every fuel tank. You need them to keep flying.
- Slow down in narrow parts of the river and speed up where it is wide.
- Only two of your shots can be on screen at once, so aim before you fire.
Want the full 3D experience with boss fights and six missions? Play Sky Lords 3D or read the beginner's guide.