Sky Force

Sky Force is a classic vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up game developed by Infinite Dreams. Players pilot a heavily armed fighter aircraft through waves of enemy forces, destroying everything in their path to complete missions. The core appeal of Sky Force lies in its blend of intense action, strategic upgrading, and rewarding progression systems that encourage repeated play to fully max out a ship's capabilities.

Destroying Enemy Units to Raise the Survivor Percentage

A primary objective in any level of Sky Force is to annihilate all opposition. Players must shoot down every enemy plane, ground vehicle, and turret they encounter. The game tracks a "survivor" percentage for each stage, which directly increases as players eliminate more targets. This mechanic is central to progression in Sky Force, as achieving a high percentage is often necessary to earn medals and unlock further content. Players constantly maneuver their craft, using a combination of primary fire and special weapons to ensure no enemy escapes.

Completing Stage-Specific Primary Objectives

Each stage in Sky Force presents a unique primary goal that must be completed to finish the level. These objectives are clearly stated before launching and typically involve defeating a powerful boss character that appears at the end of the stage. Players must navigate through the entire level, managing enemy waves and environmental hazards, to reach this culminating showdown. Successfully destroying the boss is the final step to completing the stage's main goal and is a key part of the Sky Force experience, testing all the skills a player has learned.

Rescuing Civilians for Bonus Points and Health

Scattered throughout the chaotic battlefields of Sky Force are helpless civilians trapped on the ground. Players can rescue them by flying over their location, which provides an immediate points bonus. More importantly, collecting these survivors also contributes to a health restore for your aircraft. This creates a vital risk-reward dynamic; players must often dive into dangerous, bullet-saturated areas of the screen to secure a rescue, making tactical positioning a crucial skill for success in Sky Force.

Collecting Star Credits from Destroyed Enemies

Virtually every enemy destroyed in Sky Force drops shining star credits. Players automatically collect these stars by flying near them, though they must often weave through bullet patterns to do so. These stars are the main currency for the entire upgrade system. The number of stars collected in a run is tallied at the end of the level, whether the player wins or loses. This persistent reward loop ensures that every attempt in Sky Force contributes to long-term progression, incentivizing repeated play.

Investing Stars in a Persistent Hangar Upgrade System

Progress in Sky Force is defined by its deep and permanent upgrade system, accessible from the hangar menu between missions. Here, players spend hard-earned stars to enhance their ship's firepower, speed, defensive capabilities, and special weapons. Each category has multiple tiers of upgrades, allowing for significant customization of a player's loadout. This system provides a compelling long-term goal, as fully upgrading a ship requires a substantial investment and encourages replaying levels to farm more stars, which is a core pillar of the Sky Force progression model.

Earning Medals by Mastering Difficulty Levels

Sky Force challenges players to master its content through a medal system. Each stage has three medals to earn, typically awarded for achieving a 100% destruction rate, rescuing all civilians, and completing the stage without continuing. These medals are often gated behind difficulty levels, requiring players to first beat a stage on Normal before attempting it on Hard or higher. Unlocking and completing these higher difficulties is essential for accessing all content in Sky Force and provides the ultimate test of a player's skill and fully upgraded ship.

Unlocking New Stages and Difficulty Tiers

The campaign in Sky Force is not entirely linear. While initial stages are available immediately, later levels and increased difficulty settings are locked behind specific requirements. Players typically need to earn a certain number of medals from prior stages to unlock new areas and challenges. This gates progression, ensuring players have adequately upgraded their ship and honed their skills before taking on more formidable opposition. This structured unlocking mechanism in Sky Force provides a clear and rewarding sense of advancement through the game's campaign.