Starlight Ascendant: Roguelite

Alien formations pour in from the top of the screen, lock into place, and dive. Your guns fire on their own. Your only job is to fly. When the wave ends, the shop opens, and that's where runs are won. Lock the offer you want, reroll the rest, and combine two weapons into something new. A few waves later your ship is throwing chain lightning and orbiting blades, and the screen is mostly explosions. Survive 20 waves. Kill the boss. Then start over with a new ship and a worse idea. BUILD SOMETHING THAT SHOULDN'T WORK There are 11 base weapons. Combine two of the same tier and they merge: two copies rank up, and two different weapons make a hybrid. Cyber Sword and Fire Ball make a Flame Saber. Pulse Laser and Lightning Spark make a Spark Storm. That's 55 hybrids, plus 3 more weapons you earn in the other worlds. Then pile on items. There are 169 of them, from burn and chill to life steal, magnets, and a few bad ideas that pay off. Every weapon also belongs to one of 8 classes. Carry 2 of a class and a set bonus kicks in. Carry 6 and things get silly. 16 SHIPS, 16 SETS OF RULES The Scout can't carry armor, so don't get hit. The Merchant sees five offers in every shop. The Carrier's sentries stay out for the whole wave. The Phantom can dodge up to 80% of attacks but never has more than 25 HP. Most ships also add their signature item to the shared pool the first time you win with them. FOUR WORLDS, EIGHT BOSSES Fly from Meridian Reach into Bellgrave, Cinderbloom, and Parallax Vault. Every world brings its own enemies, hazards, and music. Elites hit hard, but each one drops a Legendary Crate and heals you to full. At wave 20, one of two bosses shows up, or a titan in some worlds, and you won't know which until it does. Somewhere out there are the Sexton, Widow Sun, and something called the Unwritten. HOW HIGH CAN YOU GO Win at one Ascension level to open the next: more enemies, harder hits, elite waves, and at Ascension 5, both bosses at once. Go long enough without taking damage and your kill streak climbs from Ignition to Ascendant. 226 achievements and 5 Game Center leaderboards keep score. When a run ends, the game turns your build into a card you can share, so your friends can see exactly how you broke it. Want it gentler? Assist sliders set enemy health, damage, and speed anywhere from 50% to 150%. Runs below 100% don't unlock anything, so every unlock is earned. FREE, AND FAIR ABOUT IT No energy. No timers. No currency to buy. The game plays fully offline with no account, and your progress backs up to iCloud. It's free, with ads. After wave 5, 10, or 15, an ad may play before the next wave starts. You'll see at most 2 in a run and 4 in a day, and never in your first run, in the middle of a fight, or on the death screen. Rather skip them for good? The Supporter Pack is a one-time purchase that removes ads forever and puts a gold badge on your share cards. It changes nothing in a run. Text scales with Dynamic Type. Music, sound effects, and haptics each have their own switch, and Game Center is optional. Contains flashing lights. Reduce Motion in the game's settings turns off screen shake and steadies pulsing effects.