Vector Vanguard

Move and aim independently as waves of geometric enemies close in. Clear an escape route, collect fading shards to raise your score multiplier, and save a bomb for the moment you run out of room.

Fight through Pulse Grid, Prism Array, Flux Well and Redline. Each arena introduces different threats and a boss with three energy bars. Breaking a bar changes the fight. Hull parts detach to hunt you, then return and launch again unless you destroy them. The final bars bring spiral fire, refraction lanes, gravity shockwaves and crossed beams. Defeat a boss to unlock that arena's Endless mode.

Enemy pickups temporarily upgrade your laser through twin, three-way and five-way fire. Add gun wingmen, a one-hit shield or guided rocket wingmen. A different support replaces your current support; multishot stays active. More pickups extend their charge.

Use keyboard and mouse, keyboard aiming, a gamepad or the two touch sticks. Music and effects have separate volume controls, with reduced motion and low effects available in Settings. A pickup reference explains the powers while play is paused.

Signed-in arcade runs post to separate Circuit and Endless leaderboards for each arena. Your local records and unlocks stay on this device; existing local scores are not uploaded. First-use reminders explain powers and returning boss parts, with replay and disable options in Settings.

This is a test build. Weapon balance, difficulty and physical-phone handling are still under review. Failed uploads can be retried from the result screen during the same session.

Known test issue: score recording and confirmed result ranks work, but the arcade's leaderboard panel currently cannot load testing-only boards. An arcade-site fix is prepared separately.

Move with WASD and aim with the mouse. Hold the primary mouse button to fire, press Space to use a bomb, and press Escape to pause. For keyboard aiming, use the arrow keys to aim and fire.

On a gamepad, use the left stick to move and the right stick to aim and fire. A shoulder or trigger uses a bomb; Menu pauses.

On a phone, use the left touch stick to move and the right stick to aim and fire. Tap the bomb button between or beside the sticks. Rotation pauses play so you can check your controls before resuming.

Collect the small mint shards left by defeated enemies. Every five shards raises your score multiplier, up to ×20. An unprotected hit costs a life and resets the multiplier, so choose your collection routes carefully.

Larger framed pickups grant temporary powers. The spray symbol upgrades multishot; paired ships grant gun wingmen; the shield absorbs one hit; the rocket calls in guided rocket wingmen. One support family can be active at a time. A different support replaces the current one, while multishot remains independent.

A number shows the pickup's benefit and a clock means a refill. The first boost lasts up to 20 combat seconds. Further pickups add 10 seconds, up to 30. A shield is spent when it absorbs a hit; shield charges never stack. The HUD shows the remaining charge. Pause, between-wave recovery and boss transformations freeze power timers. Settings includes a pickup reference.

Clear four waves, then deplete the boss's three energy bars. The first bar has a shield opening. Later bars expose the core and change the attack. Destroy detached hunters before they return; destroyed parts stay gone for that fight. Read the marked lanes and gravity warnings before they become dangerous. A bomb clears bullets and interrupts beams and gravity shockwaves.

Clearing a circuit unlocks that arena's Endless mode and progresses the arena unlock ladder. A new run starts with three lives and two bombs.

Finish a run while signed in at the arcade to post its score. Each arena has separate Circuit and Endless boards. Open Arcade Leaderboard from the title, pause or result screen to compare records. If an upload fails, use Retry Upload on the result screen; your local record is retained. Pending uploads last for this page session and are dropped on reload. Existing local bests are not automatically uploaded.

Brief first-use tips explain support swaps, shields, multishot and returning hunters. You can disable them or choose Replay Gameplay Tips in Settings. The pickup reference stays available while paused.

The current test build can save scores and show a confirmed best/rank on the result screen. The full arcade leaderboard panel has a site-side loading issue for testing-only boards; that fix is separate from the game build.