The original: Defender by Williams Electronics (1981). Ours is an independent remake, not affiliated with Williams.
Defender is the unforgiving side-scrolling shooter that put Williams Electronics on the map. You pilot a ship over an alien planet, defending stranded humans from abduction by descending UFOs. Save the humans, blast everything else, and watch your radar — the playfield wraps and the threats come from both directions.
Defender shipped in 1981 from Williams Electronics, designed by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar. It was one of the first arcade games with a true bidirectional playfield and quickly became the company's biggest hit, with over 55,000 cabinets sold — a reputation for unforgiving difficulty included.
How do I play Defender? Use the arrow keys to fly your ship and Space to fire. Defend the humans on the surface from Landers trying to abduct them. Watch your radar — threats come from both directions.
Is Defender free? Yes — no signup, no downloads, no installs.
What does the smart bomb do? A smart bomb wipes every enemy currently on the screen. You start with three, earn one more as each new wave begins (up to five), and everything it clears still scores.
What happens when every human is gone? The planet explodes: every Lander on the field turns into a Mutant, the ground disappears, and the next waves arrive as Mutants. The planet and the colony are rebuilt on waves 5, 10, 15 and so on. Humans still alive when you clear a wave earn a bonus.
Does my high score save? Yes — your best score on each difficulty saves in your browser and also goes on that difficulty's public leaderboard (Easy, Normal and Hard each have their own) under your first name. You can change your name on your profile.