Survive twenty minutes of the swarm in a rain-soaked neon plaza.
Neon Swarm is a horde-survival roguelite set in a downtown plaza after a cloudburst. The street is a black mirror, the signs smear into long reflections, and from every alley the swarm comes: skittering crawlers, hulking brutes, dashers, spitters and worse. You only steer. Your weapons fire on their own, and every crystal you collect brings you closer to the next upgrade.
Each level-up pauses time and offers three cards: a new weapon, a stronger version of one you carry, or a passive that boosts your whole build. Max out a weapon while holding its matching passive and it evolves into something spectacular. Survive twenty minutes, defeat four bosses and the night is yours. Fall, and the shards you earned buy permanent upgrades and new heroes for the next run.
How to play
- Move with WASD, the arrow keys, a gamepad stick or by dragging anywhere on a touch screen. Attacks are automatic: each weapon fires at its own rhythm and aims for you.
- Defeated enemies drop crystals. Walk near them to pull them in. When the bar at the top fills you level up: time slows and you choose one of three cards with 1, 2 or 3, a click or tap, or the D-pad and A.
- You can carry six weapons and six passives. A weapon at its maximum level plus its matching passive can evolve: watch for the gold Evolution card, or open a chest dropped by an elite or a boss.
- Bosses arrive at 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes. Their attacks are always telegraphed: red circles and lanes fill up on the ground before they strike, so step out of them.
- Between runs, spend shards in the Hangar on permanent upgrades and pick a hero. New heroes unlock as you hit milestones: survive five minutes, defeat a boss, evolve a weapon and more.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Touch | Gamepad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move | WASD or arrow keys | Drag anywhere (floating stick) | Left stick / D-pad |
| Attack | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Choose upgrade | 1 / 2 / 3, or ← → and Enter, or click | Tap a card | D-pad + A |
| Reroll cards | Q | Reroll button | X |
| Hangar navigation | Arrows + Enter, or click | Tap | D-pad + A |
| Pause / restart | Esc / R | Pause button | Start / Back |
Every action can be remapped in Settings.
Modes
- Survival
- Twenty minutes in the rain. Bosses at 5, 10, 15 and 20. Earn shards for permanent upgrades.
- Hyper Night
- Faster, denser swarms with ×1.5 XP and shards. For veterans.
- Daily Run Daily
- Today's seeded hero, weapon and two plaza modifiers. Twelve minutes, no meta upgrades: everyone starts equal.
Tips & strategy
- Keep moving in wide circles around the swarm instead of backing into a corner. Enemies come from every direction, so the open middle of the plaza is safer than the edges.
- Early on, take a second damaging weapon quickly. Area weapons like the Arc Whip, Shockwave or Static Field cover the blind spots of aimed ones like the Pulse Blaster.
- Plan evolutions: each card for a new passive tells you which weapon it evolves. A weapon at level 8 with its passive turns a chest into an evolution.
- Data caches (amber pylons) break in one hit and drop healing, magnets, shard caches or a screen-clearing EMP bomb. Grab the magnet when the floor is full of crystals.
- Elites glow gold and always drop a chest. They are worth hunting down.
- Right after you pick a card you get a second and a half of shield and a push-back wave, so a level-up in a crowd is an escape, not a trap.
- Spend your first shards on Vitality and Might, then Recovery and Armour. Second Wind (a free revive) is expensive but saves runs.
Achievements
- Giant SlayerDefeat a bossLocked
- MetamorphosisEvolve a weaponLocked
- Night OwlSurvive 10 minutes in one runLocked
- Dawn BreakerDefeat the Null Sovereign and finish a runLocked
- Thousand LightsDefeat 1,000 enemies in one runLocked
- OverclockedReach level 40 in one runLocked
- Full ArsenalCarry six weapons at onceLocked
- PrismaticHave two evolved weapons in one runLocked
- Crew CompleteUnlock every heroLocked
A short history of the genre
Horde-survival games grew out of the arena shooters and twin-stick games of the arcade era, where one player faced endless waves. In the late 2010s and early 2020s a wave of small indie games stripped the formula down to a single input, movement, and handed the shooting to automatic weapons. The result was instantly readable and deeply replayable: the fun moved from aiming to building, choosing the upgrades that turn a fragile hero into a walking light show.
The genre borrowed from roguelites too: runs are short, every run is different, and permanent unlocks make each failure feed the next attempt. Neon Swarm follows those conventions with a fully 3D, rain-soaked city plaza, telegraphed boss fights and a daily run that gives every player the same hero, weapon and modifiers.
FAQ
Is Neon Swarm free?
Yes. Neon Swarm is free to play in your browser with no download or sign-up. The site is supported by unobtrusive ads that never cover the game.
Do I have to aim or press attack?
No. All weapons fire automatically. You only move, collect crystals and choose upgrades when you level up.
How do evolutions work?
Raise a weapon to level 8 while you own its matching passive (each passive card says which weapon it evolves). An Evolution card then appears when you level up, and chests from elites and bosses evolve it too.
What is the Daily Run?
A twelve-minute run that is identical for every player on the same day: the same hero, starting weapon and two modifiers such as Downpour or Glass Cannon. Permanent upgrades are switched off so everyone starts equal. It changes at midnight UTC.
How do I unlock new heroes?
By playing: survive five minutes, defeat a boss, evolve a weapon and defeat 2,500 enemies in total. Unlocked heroes appear in the Hangar before each run. No purchases, ever.
Does it work on phones?
Yes. Drag anywhere on the screen to move with a floating stick and tap cards to choose upgrades. It plays in portrait and landscape, and the graphics quality adjusts to your device.
Where is my progress saved?
Shards, upgrades and heroes are saved in your browser on this device. You can export your profile from the Profile page and import it elsewhere.
Updates
- Neon Swarm launched with Survival, Hyper Night and the Daily Run: 12 weapons with evolutions, 14 passives, 4 bosses and 5 heroes.
