Nova Swarm has received another major update, and this time something much bigger is moving through the swarm. The September 9 update introduces 14 Space Snake species, rare bonus cores, 15 additional bounty drones and a completely rebuilt fleet of 30 player ships.
Developer Tiny Foundry has also made active combat more rewarding, upgraded the orbital hangar, improved boss support mechanics and added numerous audio, HUD and quality-of-life improvements.
14 Space Snakes Are Now Hunting Players
The biggest addition is the introduction of Space Snakes.
Starting from Sector 6, players have a chance to encounter these rare creatures during their runs. Space Snakes are made from connected armoured body sections and can coil, sweep and weave around the battlefield while hunting the player.
There are 14 different species to encounter, each featuring its own appearance, body proportions and voice.
They are not simply oversized regular enemies either. Space Snakes become tougher alongside the player’s progression and can use aimed attacks alongside several movement patterns.
Players have to destroy their bodies section by section before finishing the creature and triggering a destruction cascade.
Successfully killing one also provides a bounty.
All 14 Space Snakes have been added to a dedicated category in the Threat Codex. Their entries contain additional backstories and combat tips for players who want to learn more about each creature.
Rare Bonus Cores Give Players Something Else to Hunt
Tiny Foundry has also introduced 10 rare bonus cores.
These provide score and collection rewards and have their own designs, movement behaviour and pickup sounds.
Importantly, bonus cores are separate from normal powerups. Picking one up will therefore not replace an existing combat effect.
They are intentionally rare and unpredictable, giving players another reason to keep an eye on the battlefield during longer runs.
Nova Swarm Adds 15 More Bonus Drones
The bounty drone roster has received a significant expansion as well.
The update introduces 15 additional bonus drones, increasing the total number of shootable bounty drones to 19.
Each drone comes with its own design, score reward, Codex entry and artwork.
Tiny Foundry has also made their rewards easier to understand. The bounty number displayed to the player is now the exact amount of score they will receive.
Bonus drones will appear less frequently than before, while the new bonus cores remain rare encounters.
All 30 Player Ships Have Been Rebuilt
The entire Nova Swarm player fleet has undergone a major visual overhaul.
All 30 player ships have been rebuilt as solid 3D models.
Each vessel now features an individual hull shape alongside unique colours, materials, weapons and engine lighting inspired by its original artwork.
Players can rotate their ships inside the showroom and will see matching artwork when entering combat.
Despite the major visual changes, Tiny Foundry has deliberately left gameplay balance alone.
Ship stats, traits and hitboxes remain unchanged.
Players can therefore continue using their existing ships without discovering that their favourite vessel suddenly handles differently.
The Orbital Hangar Looks Much Better
The fleet overhaul extends into the orbital hangar.
Nova Swarm now features a more cinematic hangar presentation alongside animated Play and Other Modes buttons.
Help screens have received additional visual improvements, while the Codex button now pulses whenever the player has unread discoveries waiting.
Layered sci-fi ambience continues throughout the menus and transitions smoothly into gameplay.
Menu voices remain disabled by default, although players who want them can enable the feature through the Audio settings.
Grazing Is More Rewarding
The update also encourages players to take more risks during combat.
The graze margin has been widened, making deliberate close passes against enemy projectiles more practical.
Distinct bullets can count individually while the player is vulnerable. Protected flight continues using its existing limit.
However, the player’s actual collision hitbox has not been increased.
This means players have more opportunities to deliberately graze attacks without making normal movement more dangerous.
Phase Reactor Gets 50% More Damage
Phase Reactor has received an offensive improvement.
After phasing, the player’s next normal volley receives 50% additional damage when fired within 1.8 seconds.
This comes on top of the immediate reload already provided by phasing.
Players who properly time their attacks can therefore turn a defensive manoeuvre into an immediate offensive opportunity.
Rift Shards Now Scale With Your Run
Rift shards have been adjusted so their damage scales with both weapon power and sector depth.
The change should help shards remain useful as players progress into increasingly difficult sectors.
Clears generated through innate dodge pulses will now contribute correctly as well.
Boss Fuel Ships Are Now Much More Dangerous
Ignoring support ships during a boss fight could now be a costly mistake.
Fuel ships deliver substantially more healing following the update, making interception considerably more important.
There is still a limit to their effectiveness.
Fuel ships cannot restore a boss beyond 60% health, preventing them from completely resetting a fight.
Nevertheless, allowing several support ships to reach a damaged boss could significantly extend an encounter.
Bosses and Space Snakes Get Improved Audio
Several major combat events now have stronger audio feedback.
Space Snakes, arriving enemy waves, bosses and bonus core pickups all benefit from richer sound effects.
Boss voices can also evolve throughout a fight, adding more variation as an encounter progresses.
Personal Bests Feel More Important
Breaking a record should now feel like an actual achievement.
Overrun milestones and personal bests have received stronger celebrations with new artwork and fanfares.
Cabinet Wonders also have a larger luminous presentation.
The previous opaque card frame has been removed, while the new presentation does not add additional waiting time.
Nova Swarm Gets Several HUD Improvements
Tiny Foundry has made several smaller improvements across the interface.
The sector display is now more prominent, HUD spacing has been improved and the Lives display now uses a portrait of the player’s current ship.
Controller navigation inside Settings has also been improved.
Players can use LB and RB to move between tabs, while controller focus should be easier to identify.
Unlocked ships will continue displaying their original unlock requirements inside the Hangar as well.
Finally, missing Codex artwork has been repaired and the incorrect Hyper Rail icon has been fixed.
Nova Swarm Continues Its Major Overhaul
The Space Snakes update arrives only days after Nova Swarm received another substantial overhaul focused on its fleet, enemies, bosses and environments.
This latest update continues that work but puts considerably more emphasis on giving players new things to discover and hunt.
Fourteen Space Snakes, 10 rare bonus cores and 15 additional bounty drones dramatically expand the number of unusual encounters that can appear during a run.
Combined with the rebuilt 30-ship fleet and improvements to grazing, phasing, Rift shards and boss support ships, Nova Swarm is giving players considerably more reasons to dive back into the swarm.
