Drift Awake

Sleep doesn't come naturally any more. What is left of it is NYX, and it is hauled, hoarded and refined by factions throughout the universe.

Break their carriers and Nyx comes off the hull as crystals, but raw Nyx is worth nothing. So you fly as much as you can into a drift and come back up with it worth more.

How a run works

• Shoot carriers and collect the crystals they drop. That fills your NYX bar.
• Fly into a Drift.  You lose most of your control while you are there, you cannot dodge, and everything damages more.
• The Drift refines what you brought it.  The fuller your hold when you dive, the more it pays off.
• Bank 150 Nyx and reach the extraction gate to finish the run.
• There's no time limit. The only way to lose is to lose the ship.

What you are flying

A shield sits above the hull and takes every hit first. It comes back on its own if you stay clean for a few seconds, the hull doesn't. On the first two missions you also fly with a wing.  One or two other pilots who shoot, soak and can be lost. Bring them home and you are paid extra.

Between runs

Everything you carry out is added to a running total on the star map. At THE NYX  MATRIX you can use NYX to charge the bunk for sleep, which is the only thing in the game that makes you permanently tougher and to upgrade your bolt. This the only place to truly sleep.

Scores

Every run scores, and the end screen shows the top ten for that level, your score and everybody else playing.

The Missions

• THE FIRST DIVE   flat, one lane, learn the dive.
• THE STACKS   the same job with one more dimension (3D) . Rise for what you can't reach, on a thinner ship.
• THE END OF THE NIGHT    THE HYPNOS is guarding the last of it. It doesn't sleep anymore but can rest in it's own Drift when threatened.
• THE DEEP   open space no exit, no real win. Stay in it as long as you can stand  up and put a number on the board. There is no going back.
• UNLOCK 24 ONE BIT CLASSIC PALETTES along the way.

Controls

• A / D   steer
• W / S    throttle. On THE STACKS these climb and dive instead, and Ctrl is how you ease back
• Ctrl    brake
• Space    boost
• Left mouse    fire. Tap for a shot, hold for a charged one
• Mouse    on THE STACKS it moves a marker out in front of you and your guns follow it (Star Fox Inspired)
• Left Shift or middle mouse    FLATLINE
• F or right mouse    dodge roll
• P    pause    R    restart

Gamepad supported. If you would rather not hold a trigger, turn HOLD TO FIRE off in Settings and the gun runs on its own.  That mode has the higher damage, but no Charge Shot.

The bottom of the screen always shows the controls for the level you are actually on. 

Settings

Volume, field of view, screen shake, mouse aim, hold-to-fire, palette and a quality preset, reachable from the menu or from the pause screen. If the game runs poorly in your browser, lower the quality preset first.

About

Built in Unity 6.3.  Full Credits in the Game Main Menu