Two New Games: Asterluck Rearguard and Dogfight Bring Asteroids to the Couch
· Gaming Couch
There are two new games on Gaming Couch, and they both come from the same place: the 1979 arcade classic Asteroids. Meet Asterluck, a pair of space-shooter party games that take the drifting, thrust-and-turn feel of the original and drop 1 to 8 friends into the same asteroid field. They play very differently, so we shipped both.
Asterluck: Rearguard, the Survival Run
Rearguard is the tense one. You're piloting through an asteroid field, and your ship can take exactly three hits. There's no respawn. Get careless and you're out, watching your friends thread the needle while you wait for the next round.
That "no second chances" rule changes how everyone plays. Early bravado gives way to careful flying, and the last pilot alive earns it. It's the mode for groups who like their tension to build.
(Longtime players might recognize this one. Rearguard is the game we previously called Spaced In. Same game, better name.)
Asterluck: Dogfight, the Score Brawl
Dogfight is the loud one. Instant respawn, so death barely slows you down, and the whole point is points: blast asteroids and blast your rivals to rack up your score before time runs out. It's constant, aggressive, and forgiving in the way arcade games should be. Mess up, respawn, get back in the fight.
Where Rearguard rewards patience, Dogfight rewards aggression. Bringing a group that just wants chaos? Start here.
Two Takes on One Classic
We like building small families of games around a single idea, and Asteroids turned out to be perfect for it. The same core loop (thrust, rotate, drift, shoot) supports both a survival mode and a score-attack brawl, and letting friends argue over which one is better is half the fun.
Both games are free, both support 1 to 8 players, and both run in your browser with your phone as the controller. Pick your ship and start playing, or line them up back to back and settle the debate.