Shooter · Shoot 'em up
Nouns Air Combat
A top-down air shooter starring the Nouns.
The Grump King has grumped the Nouns! Fly one of 8 Noun planes over 30 places and un-grump 30 giant Noun bosses. No blood: Grumps just go pop.
- Genre
- Top-down shoot 'em up · Arcade
- Price
- Free, no ads, no sign-up
- Planes
- 8 Noun pilots, each with its own gun and Super
- Stages
- 30 places in three worlds, each with a mid-boss and a giant Noun boss
- Modes
- Campaign, Daily Challenge, Endless, Boss Rush
- Plays on
- Phones (upright or sideways), tablets and computers, with controllers too
- Players
- 1, or 2 on one device (keyboard, two controllers or a half of the screen each)
- Difficulty
- Easy, Normal and Ace, plus Calm effects and Easy-see shots
- Violence
- Cartoon only: Grumps pop into voxels, no blood
What is Nouns Air Combat?
Nouns Air Combat is a classic vertical-scrolling shooter made for kids. The Grump King has grumped the Nouns: Grump planes fill the sky over Noggle City, Harbour Bay, the Sea Resort, the Safari Plains, the Noggle Alps, Mesa Canyon, Lava Land, Noggle Park, the Storm Clouds and finally Grump Space.
Then World 2: who grumped the Grump King? The Grump Queen! Her Grumps fly over Sunny Farm, the Jungle Temple, the Polar Sea, the Gear Works, the Spooky Woods, the Koi Gardens, Sunset Boardwalk, Neon Nights, Candy Land and her palace on the Grump Moon.
And World 3: who grumped the Grump Queen? The Grump Cat! Over Outback Rocks, the Mushroom Forest, the Coral Reef, the Big Stadium, the Movie Studio, Autumn Valley, the Tulip Fields, the Night Market, the Pixel Grid and the Grump Nebula.
Every boss is a giant grumped Noun riding a Grump machine: Boombox in the Grump Airship, Toasty on the Pizza Carrier, Shark in the Mech Crab, Kettlebell in the Stampede Tank, Bigfoot in the Yeti Fortress, Scorpion in the Drill Worm, Mountain in the Lava Golem, Rainbow on the Coaster Bot, Tornado in the Storm Grump and Crown, the Grump King, in the Sky Fortress. In World 2 it is Sunrise in the Grump Harvester, Mosquito in the Mega Mozzie, Orca in the Ice Breaker, Fire Hydrant in the Steam Bot, Werewolf in the Howl Tower, Sushi on the Sushi Boat, Sunset on the Surf Hover, Road in the Monster Truck, Muffin in the Cupcake Tank and Moonbow, the Grump Queen, in the Moon Palace. In World 3: Kangaroo on the Pogo Bot, Gnome in the Toadstool Tank, Wave in the Tide Sub, Baseball in the Pitching Machine, Camcorder on the Camera Crane, Hedgehog in the Spike Roller, Heart in the Heart Balloon, Mixer in the Mega Mixer, RGB in the Pixel Bot and Cat, the Grump Cat, in the Cat Star. Beat the machine and the Noun is un-grumped: back to its own colours, it cheers and flies home.
There is no blood: a popped Grump loses its noggles and goes up in a puff of voxels.
Watch the Nouns Air Combat trailer
45 seconds of real gameplay, filmed in the browser. Download the trailer (about 7 MB) to share it.
Nouns Air Combat screenshots
Features
8 planes, 8 Supers
Pickle's Brine Wave, Raven's Night Beam, Helicopter's Air Strike, Cloud's Storm Front, Whale's Bubble Shield, Jupiter's Black Hole, Unicorn's Rainbow Squad and Taxi's Rush Hour.
30 giant Noun bosses
Each boss is a grumped Noun in a machine with turrets you can break off. The camera swoops in as it arrives, and it gets wilder as it loses health.
Signature moves
Every boss Noun has its own big move, with a warning first: Boombox's Bass Drop, Toasty's Pizza Party, Shark's Jaws, Bigfoot's Big Stomp, Mountain's Avalanche, Crown's Crown Crash, Fire Hydrant's Fire Hose, Road's Traffic Jam, Muffin's Sprinkle Storm, Moonbow's Moonbow Beam, Heart's Love Bomb, Cat's Paw Pounce and more.
Silly Grumps
Grumps grumble as they fly, pilots bail out under tiny umbrellas, comic POP!s and BONK!s burst out, and boss Nouns trade jokes with you, then say sorry once they're un-grumped.
Its own music
A marching title theme, a grumpy oom-pah boss march, a royal theme for the Grump King and a happy un-grumped tune, plus the songs of each place.
Play together
Two players on one device: WASD and the arrows, two controllers, or a half of the touch screen each.
Rescue the Nouns
Break Grump huts and gift balloons to free little Nouns, then catch them as they float down on parachutes. Each one you save joins your squad in a propeller beanie and flies behind you, helping out.
Treasure Grump
Once a stage a golden Treasure Grump dashes across the sky. It never shoots: catch it for a jackpot of coins.
Hall of Fame
Your top five flights in every mode, with the plane you flew. Plus a first-flight guide, badges the moment you earn them, and phone vibration and controller rumble.
Power up
P for a stronger gun (up to level 5), B for a Super, S for a shield, W for a wingman and M for a coin magnet. Break a whole formation of Swoopers for a free P.
Hangar
Earn Noggle coins and spend them on new planes, five colours for each plane (the Brawl costumes: Classic, Alt, Gold, Shadow and Neon) and upgrades: Start Power, Armor, Bomb Bay, Coin Magnet, Wingman and Lucky Noggles.
Medals and badges
Four medals a stage (clear, no hits, all Nouns rescued, 90% of Grumps down) and 20 badges to earn.
Daily Challenge
A fixed stage and plane each day, the same for everyone, with a streak for playing every day.
Phone ready
Drag anywhere to fly: your plane follows your finger, it shoots by itself, and a big button fires your Super.
How to play
- Press Play and pick a stage (and a plane and difficulty if you like).
- Fly to dodge: your plane shoots by itself, and only its cockpit can be hit.
- Grab pick-ups, break formations and free the Nouns.
- Save your Super for a tight spot: it clears every Grump shot on the screen.
- Beat the giant grumped Noun at the end to un-grump it and clear the stage.
Controls
Keyboard
- WASD · arrows
- Fly
- Space · right-click
- Super
- Shift
- Fly slowly
- Esc · P
- Pause
- F9
- Record your gameplay
Touch
- Drag anywhere
- Fly (the plane follows your finger)
- 💥
- Super
- ❚❚
- Pause
The stages
Nouns Air Combat questions
Is Nouns Air Combat free?
Yes. It is free to play in your browser, with no ads and no sign-up. Noggle coins for the Hangar are earned by playing, never bought with real money.
Is it OK for kids?
It is made for kids: there is no blood, Grumps just pop, and Easy gives you a shield on every life and slower Grump shots. Calm effects turns off screen shake and softens flashes. There is no chat.
Can two people play?
Yes, on one device. Pick 2P on the stage screen: player 1 flies with WASD and Space, player 2 with the arrows and Enter, or one controller each, or one half of a touch screen each.
Does it work on phones?
Yes. Drag anywhere to fly and tap the big button for a Super. It plays held upright or sideways.
Can I keep going if I run out of planes?
Yes. In the Campaign you can continue where you were: your score halves but you keep your coins.
Ready to play?
Free in your browser on phones, tablets and computers. No download, no sign-up.
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