Star Drifter
Nostalgia Hound · 2016 · Indie, Action, Casual, Shoot 'Em Up
Compare prices in Official Stores
Compare prices in Keyshops
Keyshops are third-party marketplaces — keys are resold and can be region-locked or a different edition. Check the listing's region & edition before buying.
Screenshots
About Star Drifter
Blast through waves of randomly generated enemies in this punishing arcade-style space shooter, leveling up your pilot and upgrading your ship with powerful weapons and defenses between runs. This is a brutally difficult, old-school challenge where you'll die constantly, exit your ship to fight aliens mid-battle, and face off against massive bosses—all soundtracked by an awesome chiptune score.
Features:
- Level up your space pilot. Earn points by destroying enemies and surviving. Spend your points at the shop, upgrade your ship and equip a variety of defence and weapon systems.
- A massive amount of randomly generated enemies, power ups, secret weapons and huge bosses.
- Protect your ship! Exit your ship and attack the aliens while your shields are regenerating.
- An awesome authentic chip sound track.
\
Disclaimer:\
Star Drifter is a full screen action space shooter. You play with your keyboard. We have developed the game to feel like an old school arcade, hard, very hard, super punishing space shooter. The game is not easy and you will die a lot. Please take caution, if you're in the mood for something that will hold your hand or let you win, you're in the wrong place. Star Drifter is ideal for casual gamers that enjoy a real challenge. Prepare to be destroyed over and over again, lose your score and rage at the computer.
Thank you and good luck!
Dan and Martin.
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
Very slow and poorly optimized arcade shoot em up. Far better ones of steam to enjoy.10 found this helpful
[h1] Safely skip this one. [/h1]6 found this helpful
Ship drifts like dad after sauna, asteroids judge my life choices. Ugly space soup but I keep slurping the pain.1 found this helpful
Star Drifter, developed by Nostalgia Hound and PiGravity and published by Back To Basics Gaming, is a throwback to the unforgiving days of classic arcade shoot-’em-ups. It’s a game that seeks to capture the chaos, difficulty, and tight control schemes of an era defined by precision and reflexes, while adding a modern twist through procedural generation and upgrade systems. Rather than relying on story or spectacle, Star Drifter focuses purely on challenge and repetition. It’s about surviving as long as you can, learning from each death, and slowly improving through persistence. For players who grew up in smoky arcades or have a fondness for the brutal simplicity of retro shooters, this game aims to rekindle that thrill—but it does so with an edge that may alienate those expecting accessibility or polish. At its core, Star Drifter is an intense vertical shooter that drops you into space with nothing but your reflexes and a fragile ship to keep you alive. You face relentless waves of enemies, environmental hazards like asteroids, and a barrage of projectiles that can fill the screen within seconds. The structure is simple: survive, shoot everything in sight, collect points, and use …1 found this helpful
So bad
No controller support and the default controls not being rebindable from the arrow keys + ZXC already makes this a no go for me. The excessive VFX that make it hard to see what's going on is just the cherry on top.
Community reviews
0 reviews
Sign in to write a review.
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this game.
