Play Tyrian Online

Game Overview

Tyrian is one of those classic MS-DOS shooters that somehow manages to be both chaotic and weirdly relaxing. You pilot a little spaceship with way too many weapons—front guns, rear guns, even these detachable side pods that feel like cheating once you figure them out. The first few levels trick you into thinking it’s just another space shooter, until you hit the first boss and realize half the screen is filled with neon bullets and ridiculous explosions.

What’s cool is how forgiving it is compared to most shooters. Your ship has shields that recharge, plus armor that sticks around until you find a repair pickup. It’s the kind of game where you can fumble through a level, barely scraping by, and still feel like a hero. The shop system between levels lets you obsess over upgrades—do you go for raw firepower or something dumb like the "banana bomb"? (Yes, that’s a real weapon.)

And then there’s the humor. The dialogue is full of bizarre one-liners, and the enemy designs range from menacing to "why is that spaceship shaped like a frog?" The arcade mode strips away the upgrades for a purer, faster experience, but the full campaign is where Tyrian really shines. It’s like someone took Galaga, gave it a caffeine boost, and then doodled all over it with a neon marker. Still holds up surprisingly well.

Each game uses different controls, most DOS games use the keyboard arrows. Some will use the mouse , "Alt" ,"Enter" and "Space bar".