A 3D vector flight game where your missiles heal infected ships instead of destroying them, across five tougher levels.
Backspace: Return to Figadore is a 3D flight game drawn in crisp vector lines. You fly Jade’s starship low over the rolling green hills of planet Figadore, where a sickness is hopping from one alien ship to the next. Your weapon is unusual: each missile you fire heals a ship rather than wrecking it. Turn every infected red ship back to gray and the planet is safe.
The whole thing was built for the 2019 js13k contest, whose theme was “Back.” Its creator wrote a custom 3D engine, and every hill, tree, ship and even the moon is rendered as SVG, and the sound effects are generated live in the browser.
The goal
Each level fills the sky with alien craft, and half of them start out red. After a short grace period, any red ship that drifts near a gray one passes the infection along. Healthy ships try to steer clear, but they often fail.
Your job is to cure all the red ships. A missile that passes close enough to one turns it gray and adds a point to your score. A bar on the right side of the screen shows how much of the fleet is sick. If that bar fills completely, the mission is lost.
Flying the ship
The ship moves forward by itself. Hold Up, W or the semicolon key to speed up, and Down, S or the period key to slow down and drift back. Left and Right, A and D, or Z and X turn with a lean. Moving the mouse side to side slides the ship sideways without changing your heading, which is handy for lining up a shot.
Fire with Space or Enter. Missiles spin straight ahead and fade after roughly three seconds, and only five can be in flight at once.
How the levels ramp up
Level 1 holds five ships. Each new level adds five more, so level 5 has twenty-five. At the same time, the cure blast gets smaller, which means later shots have to pass closer to their targets. Early levels let you spray missiles; later ones reward patient aim.
Strategy notes
- Use the opening seconds well. Infection does not spread right away, so heal the closest red ships immediately.
- Prioritize sick ships flying near healthy ones, since a single carrier can turn a whole cluster.
- Fire in short bursts. With a five-missile cap and a brief delay between shots, holding the button wastes ammo.
- When the red part of the bar grows quickly, stop wandering and focus on nearby targets.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse |
|---|---|---|
| Start the game, or return to the title after it ends | Any key (Space or Enter) | — |
| Turn left or right | Left/Right arrows, A/D or Z/X | — |
| Speed up | Up arrow, W or ; | — |
| Slow down and drift back | Down arrow, S or . | — |
| Fire a cure missile | Space or Enter | — |
| Slide sideways | — | Move the mouse left or right |
Backspace: Return to Figadore FAQ
Can I play it on a phone or Chromebook?
A Chromebook or any computer with a keyboard works fine. Phones and tablets are not supported, because turning, speed control and firing all happen on keys. The mouse only adds an optional sideways slide.
What is the win condition?
Cure every red ship on a level to move on. There are five levels, and clearing the fifth saves the planet. If the infection reaches the entire fleet first, a FAILED screen appears and you start over at level 1.
How long does a game last?
It is short by design. Five levels with 5 to 25 ships each make for a compact run, and how long it takes depends mostly on how cleanly you aim as the cure radius shrinks.
Why did I suddenly reappear in the center?
The flying area has edges. Stray too far in any direction and the game resets your position to the middle of the map so you never lose track of the action.
