NEONSHOOTER

ENDLESS LEVELS - A BOSS EVERY THREE

A twin-stick arcade shooter drawn entirely in neon: move with one hand, shoot with the other, and watch the arena grid bend under the explosions. Play solo, with a friend on the same PC, or online.

Download for WindowsNeonShooter-1.1.1-win64.zip · 1.6 MB Download for LinuxNeonShooter-1.1.1-linux-x86_64.tar.gz · 1.4 MB

Version 1.1.1
64-bit Windows 10/11 and Linux
A single file, nothing to install

Neon Shooter runs on Windows and Linux PCs: open this page on your computer to download it.

The player's ship against HEXACORE, the first boss, surrounded by a ring of pink bullets — HEXACORE, the first boss: it shows up after level three.

INSTALLATION

Download the package for your system with the buttons above.
Extract it anywhere: on Windows right-click, Extract All; on Linux tar xzf NeonShooter-*-linux-x86_64.tar.gz or your archive manager.
Run NeonShooter.exe on Windows or ./NeonShooter on Linux, and play. Nothing gets installed: to remove it, just delete the folder.

REQUIREMENTS

64-bit Windows 10 or 11, or 64-bit Linux with glibc 2.35 or later (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 36 and newer)
A graphics card with OpenGL 3.3: any PC from the last ten years will do
Keyboard and mouse, or an Xbox or compatible gamepad
To play online, an internet connection (on Linux also libcurl, which is almost always there)

Windows: warning on first launch

Windows SmartScreen may show Windows protected your PC, because the game is not digitally signed. Click More info → Run anyway. It only happens once.

Windows: firewall on your first online game

The first time you play online, Windows may ask whether to allow Neon Shooter to access the network: allow it, at least on private networks.

Linux: launching

Start it from a terminal with ./NeonShooter, or with a double click if your file manager allows it. On Wayland it runs through XWayland, enabled by default on GNOME and KDE.

GAME MODES

SOLO

Endless levels and a boss every three. The multiplier goes up every 12 kills and resets when you lose a life; your best scores are saved.

CO-OP

Two players on the same PC, on the same team against levels and bosses: bigger waves, tougher bosses. Whoever runs out of lives rejoins at the end of the level.

VERSUS

Head to head on the same PC: your shots hit your rival and the enemies attack you both. First to 3 rounds wins; the fourth round is against the boss, and whoever lands the final blow takes it.

ONLINE

Co-op or versus, each from their own PC. The host gets a 5-letter code, for example QX7KM, which the friend types in JOIN WITH CODE; or the friend picks the game from the list of open ones. The two PCs connect directly, even between Windows and Linux.

Co-op game: the cyan ship and the green one against a swarm of orange hexagons — Co-op on one PC: two ships, one team.

Versus game: a hit bends the arena grid into a pink wave — Versus: a hit on your rival.

LEVELS AND BOSSES

Levels are randomly generated and never end: each one has its own waves, a name and a color, and is harder than the last. From level three come the modifiers, from level nine even two at once.

fast enemies
armored
swarms
shooters
black holes

After every three levels comes a boss, in rotation. Each boss is stronger than the last, and from the fourth on they get an extra phase.

HEXACORE

A core inside a rotating ring of shields: shoot through the gaps, or break a shield before it grows back. Bullet rings, spirals, swarms of seekers.

SERPENT

A head that chases you and an armored chain that fires sideways. Only the head and the yellow tip of the tail can be hurt.

TWIN PRISMS

Two orbiting prisms linked by a beam that sweeps the arena: first it flashes, then it burns. When one of them falls, the other goes berserk.

SERPENT, the second boss: a long chain of diamonds, with the grid bent around it — SERPENT in its second phase.

TWIN PRISMS, the third boss: two triangles linked by a white beam, among rings of bullets — TWIN PRISMS: the beam between the prisms is deadly.

ENEMIES

Wandererwanders around the arena
Seekerchases you
Dodgerdodges your shots
Splittersplits apart
Gunnerfires aimed shots
Dashershows its path, then dashes
Black Holepulls everything in and grows by eating enemies

Extra lives at 20,000, 60,000, 150,000, 300,000, 600,000 and 1,000,000 points.
Bombs wipe out everything on screen but give no points (in versus, only what's around you).

CONTROLS

Action	Keyboard and mouse	Gamepad
Move	`W` `A` `S` `D`	Left stick
Aim and shoot	Mouse and left button, or the arrow keys	Right stick (fires automatically)
Bomb	`Space` or right button	LB, LT or B
Pause	`Esc` or `P` (while paused, `Q` goes back to the menu)	Start
Music	`M`
Fullscreen	`F11`
FPS	`F3`

TWO PLAYERS ON ONE PC

Player one uses keyboard and mouse, player two the gamepad; with two gamepads each gets their own. Without a gamepad player two uses the keyboard: IJKL to move, the arrow keys to aim and shoot, and Right Shift for the bomb.

Player 1

WASD

move

Mouseaim and shoot

Spacebomb

Player 2

IJKL

move

↑←↓→

aim and shoot

Right Shiftbomb

READY TO PLAY

Download for WindowsNeonShooter-1.1.1-win64.zip · 1.6 MB Download for LinuxNeonShooter-1.1.1-linux-x86_64.tar.gz · 1.4 MB

64-bit Windows 10/11 and Linux
OpenGL 3.3
Keyboard and mouse or gamepad