Alien Attack is a fast, free online arcade shooter inspired by the golden age of space invaders. Waves of alien ships march down the screen in formation, edging closer with every pass, and you pilot the last laser cannon standing between them and Earth. Play right in your browser with no download and no sign-up.
It is pure reflex-and-rhythm arcade fun: dodge the incoming fire, line up your shots, and clear each wave before the swarm reaches the ground. Easy, Medium and Hard settings change how fast the aliens move and how heavily they fire, so it stays a challenge from your first run to your high-score chase.
The formation shooter is one of gaming's founding genres: Taito's Space Invaders, designed by Tomohiro Nishikado in 1978, made marching alien rows a worldwide obsession and helped launch the golden age of arcades. Its accelerating tempo — enemies speeding up as their numbers thin — was originally a hardware quirk of the era, but it proved so thrilling that designers have built it into wave shooters ever since, this one included.
Destroy every alien in each descending wave before they reach the bottom of the screen or blast your cannon. Survive wave after wave and push your score as high as you can.
Move your cannon left and right with the arrow keys (or A and D), and fire with the Spacebar. On touch devices, drag to move and tap to shoot. Use cover and quick sidesteps to avoid incoming alien fire.
You earn points for every alien you destroy, with tougher aliens higher up the formation worth more. Clearing a full wave advances you to the next, faster one. The game ends when the aliens land or your cannon is hit too many times.
Pick off the edges of the formation first to give yourself more room to dodge, and keep moving — standing still makes you an easy target. On Hard, fire in short controlled bursts and watch the whole screen, not just the alien you are aiming at.
Is Alien Attack free to play?
Yes. It is completely free in your browser with no download, no sign-up and no in-app purchases.
Can I play Alien Attack on mobile?
Yes. It works on phones and tablets with touch controls as well as on desktop with the keyboard.
How do I shoot?
Press the Spacebar on desktop, or tap the screen on a touch device, while moving to line up your shots.
More classic games: Space Rocks, Pong, Snake, Flappy, Infinite Runner, and all 100 free games.