Guard ten tiny humans on a looping planet by shooting down kidnapping aliens and catching anyone who falls.
Planet Protector is a side-scrolling space shooter over a hilly green world that wraps around endlessly. Ten little people stroll across the ground, and alien landers keep dropping from above to snatch them. Your job is to fly back and forth, shoot the landers and save as many people as you can.
The stakes rise quickly. If a lander manages to haul its prisoner all the way to the top of the screen, it becomes a mutant, which is faster and far more aggressive.
The goal
Shooting aliens earns points, but rescues are where the real score comes from. Blast a lander that is carrying someone and you collect 500 points, then the person begins to fall. A long drop will kill them, so dive underneath, catch them, and set them down on the ground for another 500.
When every lander and mutant in a wave is gone, you get a bonus for each surviving human: 100 points multiplied by the wave number. Keeping the colony intact pays more each round.
If all the people are lost, the planet explodes. Every lander still in the air turns into a mutant, and you must get through three waves made entirely of them. After that, a new planet forms with ten fresh humans.
Enemies to expect
- Landers show up from the start and go after the people.
- Purple drifters arrive in wave 2. They move slowly but split into four small chasers when shot.
- Bombers join in wave 3 and leave mines hanging in the air.
- A white hunter appears if you let a wave drag on, and it speeds after your ship.
Strategy notes
Keep an eye on the radar strip along the top. It shows the whole map at once, so you can spot a lander that is low over the ground and about to grab someone. Getting there first and shooting it before it picks anyone up saves you a tricky catch.
Your laser only fires in the direction the ship is facing. Tap the opposite direction to turn around when an enemy is behind you.
Smart bombs wipe out everything on screen and clear away enemy shots, so they are best saved for swarms of small chasers. You begin with three. Hyperspace drops you at a random point with a brief shield, but roughly one jump in seven blows up your ship, so use it only when you are trapped.
Finishing waves quickly matters too. The longer one lasts, the more white hunters come after you.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly up, down, left and right | Arrow keys or W A S D | — | Left on-screen pad |
| Fire the laser (hold for rapid fire) | Z or Space | — | Buttons on the right-hand pad |
| Smart bomb | X | — | Buttons on the right-hand pad |
| Hyperspace jump | C | — | Buttons on the right-hand pad |
| Pause | Esc | Menu icon, top right | Menu icon, top right |
Planet Protector FAQ
Can I play Planet Protector on a phone or Chromebook?
Yes. On a Chromebook or laptop, the arrow keys or WASD fly the ship, Z or Space fires, X drops a smart bomb and C jumps through hyperspace. On a phone, an on-screen pad steers and a set of buttons on the right handles the weapons. A gamepad also works.
How do I win or lose?
There is no final wave. You keep defending for as long as your ships last, chasing a higher score. You start with three ships, and any collision with an alien, a floating mine or enemy fire takes one away. When the last ship is destroyed, the game ends.
Is it one player or two?
It is a single-player game. You fly one ship, and the challenge comes from the growing mix of enemies in each wave rather than from another person.
How do I earn extra ships?
Score points. Every time you pass another 10,000 points, you gain one more ship along with one more smart bomb, so rescuing people for bonus points also helps you survive longer.
