Game Groups > Cave-flyers and Thrust variants

This sub-genre goes by many names, such as "Gravity shooters", "Cave-flyers", "Thrust-types", "Gravitors". This is a type of shoot 'em up in which the protagonist pilots a rotatable craft with thrusters (similar to Asteroids) while being subject to gravity and, often, the craft's inertia. Gravity shooters feature multi-directional, 360 degree, movement and shooting. They also feature free-scrolling stages that allow the players to roam freely around the map and approach targets however they wish. The action is presented in a side-view and usually takes place in enclosed, cavern-like, environments (thus, the term "Cave-flyers") filled with various types of enemies and hazards. Using the ship's "rotate & thrust" capabilities, the players must aim, shoot, dodge and carefully maneuver their way through the landscape while constantly taking gravity and (usually) fuel refill needs into account.

The most classic examples of this type of shoot 'em up are Gravitar and Thrust. Atari's Gravitar (1982) created most of the genre's conventions (thus, the term "Gravitors"). However it wasn't until Thrust (1986) was released (and ported to almost every home computer available at the time) that the genre gained some popularity. The genre flourished in Europe from the mid-80s to mid-90s on 8-bit home computers, Atari ST, Amiga and PC. Inspired by Thrust, many commercially released gravity-based shooters were developed in Europe during this time period, giving birth to the terms "Gravity shooter" and "Thrust-type". The phenomenon included numerous caveflier games published by young Finnish coders and shareware groups which spread around quickly through BBS systems and the registered versions were popular at copy parties. In the early 90s, the genre even ventured in multiplayer-focused games, with titles such as GF2, AUTS and Turboraketti II becoming popular among home computer users.

Related Groups

53 Games [ view in game browser ] [ add game ]

Title (Year ) Platforms Genres Moby Score
box cover thumbnail A2: The Ultimate Sequel To AUTS - The... (1998) DOS Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Assault Wing (1998) DOS Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail AUTS - The Ultimate Stress Relief Game (1995) DOS Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Bratwurst (1995) Amiga Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Comet Racer (2009) Browser, iPhone (+1 more) Racing / Driving
n/a
box cover thumbnail Crazy Gravity (1996) Windows Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Escape Vector (2008) Browser Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Fleuch 2.0 (1993) Amiga Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Fly Harder (1993) Amiga, Commodore 64 (+1 more) Action, Simulation
6.7
box cover thumbnail Galak-Z: The Dimensional (2015) PlayStation 4, Windows (+3 more) Action
7.4
box cover thumbnail Galak-Z: The Dimensional (Limited Edition) (2016) Macintosh, Linux (+1 more) Special edition
n/a
box cover thumbnail Gauntletak (1984) Atari 8-bit Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Gravitar (1982) Atari 2600, Windows (+3 more) Action
6.5
box cover thumbnail Gravitar (1993) DOS Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Gravitar: Recharged (2022) Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 (+7 more) Action
7.1
box cover thumbnail Graviton (1992) DOS Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Graviton II (1993) DOS Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail GraviTron (2006) Windows Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Gravity Ace (2020) Windows, Linux Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Gravity Crash (2009) PlayStation 3 Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Gravity Crash: Portable (2010) PSP Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Gravity Force (2000) DOS, Windows Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Gravity Force (1989) Amiga, Atari ST (+1 more) Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Gravity Force 2 (1994) Amiga Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Gravity Power (1995) Amiga Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Iron Maiden: The Final Frontier (2010) Browser Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Oids (1987) Atari ST, Macintosh Action
7.6
box cover thumbnail Pilots of Darsalon (2020) Windows, Macintosh Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Raider (1989) Amiga Action
6.1
box cover thumbnail Retrobooster (2014) Linux, Windows Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Rocket Chase (1997) DOS Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Rocket Duel (1999) Windows, Macintosh (+1 more) Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Roketz (1994) Amiga, DOS Action, Racing / Driving
n/a
box cover thumbnail Rotor (1990) DOS, Amiga (+2 more) Action
7.4
box cover thumbnail Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship (1990) NES, Arcade Action
6.6
box cover thumbnail Space Madness (2010) Browser Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Sub-Terrania (1994) Genesis Action
7.7
box cover thumbnail Super Grav (2016) Linux, Windows (+1 more) Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Super Transball 2 (2002) Windows Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail TerraFire (1997) DOS Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail The Executioner (1991) Amiga Action
6.8
box cover thumbnail Thrust (1986) Commodore 64, Atari ST (+7 more) Action
7.2
box cover thumbnail Thrust II (1987) ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 (+1 more) Action
6.6
box cover thumbnail ThrustLander (2021) Windows Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Transball (2003) DOS Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail TurboRaketti (1992) Amiga Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Utopos (1993) Atari ST Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail V-Wing (1997) DOS Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Wham! (1998) DOS Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Wings (1997) DOS Action
n/a

[ Page 1 of 2 ] [ Next ]