Play Phoenix Online

Game Overview

Phoenix is one of those old-school arcade shooters that feels simple at first—until the screen fills up with alien birds dive-bombing your ship. You start off picking off slow-moving targets, but before long, you're weaving through a storm of bullets and kamikaze enemies. The controls are tight, and the difficulty ramps up just fast enough to keep you sweating.

What I love about it is how the aliens change tactics—first they’re just floating around, then they start breaking formation, and suddenly you’re dealing with a giant mothership that splits into smaller, faster attackers. The pixel art holds up surprisingly well, especially when everything starts exploding in bright, chunky flashes.

If you’ve got a MAME emulator set up, this one’s a great way to kill 20 minutes (or lose track of an hour trying to beat your high score).