There have been a lot of games for mobile that has been ported to the online browser world, as well as vice versa, and many of them have been great. Speaking of games like that, here’s Swingby, a game definitely and obviously made for the mobile platform, but has been ported to play on a browser, and it’s super cool.
Swingby lets you play as a comet that wants to move from planet to planet. That sounds like kind of a ridiculous premise, I know, but hey, it’s a game, so anything goes. You start off the game with a tutorial that’ll teach you everything you need, once you’re done with the tutorial, the game lets go of your hand and you’re all by yourself, which we found really nice as this game is hard but very rewarding.
Your little comet will start off orbiting a planet and you’ll see another planet with another orbit around it. Your goal is to move from your planet to that other planet’s orbit without going straight for the planet itself. As you orbit your planet slowly, you can click anywhere on the screen or press the J key to slingshot yourself off of your planet out to the next using your momentum from orbiting around your planet. Sounds easier than it’s done because, as mentioned, you cannot aim straight for the planet. You’ll have to aim somewhere around it to be able to stay alive. If you miss the next planet’s orbit, you’ll die and will have to start over.
Along the way, you’ll be able to pick up coins. These coins can be used to buy powerups that will let you survive even longer. There are 3 available powerups. One will make your comet go slower so you can manage and plan your moves better. The second one makes the planet smaller so you have a larger target (since the planet becomes smaller, the orbit becomes larger). Finally, there’s a powerup that lets you bounce off the walls so if you miss the planet and hit a wall, you’ll bounce at an angle giving you a chance to hit another orbit.
Swingby is a great mobile game that you can play for hours just trying to beat your high score. If you’re looking for a good casual game while you pass time, then go for Swingby.