Guide / Power-ups
Power-ups
Seven powers hide inside the glowing orbs. You don't know which one you'll get until you touch it.
| Power-up | Lasts | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Double Jump | 10s | A second jump in mid-air. Press jump again before you land. |
| Super Jump | 6.5s | Every jump goes far higher than normal. |
| Safety Net | 13s | A net across the bottom of the screen bounces you back up. |
| Magnet | 8.5s | Pulls nearby gems to you. |
| Jetpack | 4s | Flies you straight up. It also takes one hit from a drone, laser or bullet, which ends it. |
| Hard Shield | 10s | Takes one hit from a drone, laser, meteor or bullet for you, then it is gone. |
| Time Warp | 8.5s | Slows every enemy down. |
The bar under the score shows which power is running and how much of it is left. A Pixel with the POWER perk stretches every one of these times.
How to use each one
Double Jump. The best all-round power. It turns a missed platform into a second try.
Super Jump. Fast height, less control. Watch for drones above you; you arrive sooner than you expect.
Safety Net. Falls cost nothing while it lasts. Take the risky jumps and the gem trails now.
Magnet. Worth the most in the upper biomes, where each gem is worth many times more.
Jetpack. Steer left and right to line up a landing before it runs out.
Hard Shield. It doesn't save you from a fall. Don't get careless about the bottom edge.
Time Warp. Makes the boss's dive and a laser's warning much easier to read.
How they appear
A power-up orb sits on a platform like a gem does. Near the start about one platform in seventeen carries one, and that rises steadily to about one in eight by 8,000m, so the hard biomes are also the generous ones.
Picking one up while another is running
You only ever hold one power. Touching a second orb replaces the one you have with a different power on a full timer; it never gives you the same one again. That makes an orb a decision:
- Holding a nearly finished power? Take the orb. Anything fresh beats two seconds of something good.
- Holding a full Double Jump or Safety Net? Jump around the orb unless you need the change.
- About to meet the boss? A Time Warp or a Hard Shield is worth keeping for it.
Powers and hits
Only two powers stop damage: the Hard Shield and the Jetpack. Each absorbs one hit, destroys what hit you, and ends. You then have a brief moment where nothing can hurt you, enough to get clear of the rest of a volley. Touching the boss from the side spends the power the same way and knocks you back.
When a heart is spent to save your run, you come back with a Hard Shield already on.
Pixels that change the rules
A Pixel with AIR JUMP always has a double jump and never rolls that power, so all of its orbs become something else. The same goes for MAGNET. See Pixels and perks.
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