Play Gorf Online

Gorf came out in 1981 from Midway, and you can play it today through MAME. It was one of those early arcade shooters that tried to stand out with a little more personality and structure than the endless waves of Space Invaders clones. It didn't redefine the genre, but it offered a solid, varied experience for a quarter.

You pilot a small ship at the bottom of the screen, moving left and right to blast incoming enemies. The main goal is simply to survive through its five distinct levels, or "missions," each with its own visual theme and attack patterns. The signature mechanics are these stage transitions; you start with a Galaxian-style assault, then face a flagship that fires homing missiles, followed by a space warp sequence, a challenging ambush, and a final showdown with the Gorfian flagship. The difficulty ramps up quickly, especially when dealing with enemies that divebomb or weapons that track your movement. It feels like a compact, unpredictable tour through early arcade shooter ideas, and the constant taunts from the game just make you want to drop another coin in.