Lancewing: Retro Arcade

New in 1.1: a Relaxed speed for a calmer game, friends' rankings, and a clearer First Flight lesson. Rise above the bat riders and strike from above.

Lancewing is a fast, one-screen arcade battle in the sky, drawn and scored like the 8-bit games you remember.

You ride a golden eagle over a lake of lava. Bat-riding raiders spawn on the floating ledges, and the rule is simple: when two lances meet, the higher one wins. Flap to climb, glide to dive, and hit them from above.

EASY TO PICK UP • Touch the left side of the screen to flap left, the right side to flap right; hold to keep climbing. That's it. • Prefer a stick? Switch to slide-to-steer with a separate flap button, left-handed too. One hand busy? One Thumb mode: hold to climb, slide to steer. • First Flight, a one-minute guided flight, shows each move with arrows and a hand, then your first wave starts gently: one rider waits for you on the low ledge. • Fall toward the lava for the first time and the game throws you back up, slows down and shows you where to hold to climb. • Practice mode with slow, gentle riders (and half speed in its pause menu), and a Relaxed game speed for anyone who wants the action slower • A short How to Play page shows every enemy and trick.

HARD TO PUT DOWN • Three kinds of riders, each with its own look: wandering Raiders, horned Marauders and plumed Warlords who always fight for the high ground • Unseated riders drop eggs: grab them for growing bonuses, catch them in midair for more, or watch them hatch into tougher foes • Gauntlet waves, nest waves, and lava geysers that bubble before they erupt • Linger too long and a wyvern comes hunting: only two blows from above will stop it • Extra life every 25,000 points

8-BIT AT HEART • Hand-made, shaded pixel art: wings beat in four frames, your eagle skids as it turns on a ledge and crouches as it lands, unseated knights tumble away and the lava rolls and glows • A chiptune title theme and sound effects made for this game, and an optional TV look with scanlines • Smooth, even motion on every screen, 120 Hz ProMotion included; a wrap-around arena and, on iPhone, a bump on every hit

COMPETE • Game Center leaderboard and seven achievements • Your own top-ten Hall of Fame with initials, lifetime stats and every achievement, plus a Share button for your best runs • Your best score on screen as the one to beat, and with iCloud on, your Hall of Fame follows you to a new iPhone or iPad (no iCloud? keep a backup code instead)

ACCESSIBLE • Every menu scales with your text size; each lost life is explained in words, not just color • One Thumb controls, a 3-2-1 countdown after pause, game controllers and keyboards

FAIR AND PRIVATE No accounts and no tracking. One small banner on the title screen, never during play; the ads aren't personalized, and a one-time Remove ads purchase turns it off for good (Family Sharing included). Scores stay on your device (and in your own iCloud, if it's on); Game Center is Apple's own service and optional. Once a day the game reads a small file on utilava.com to learn whether a new version is out; the request carries nothing about you.