Quick answer: Aim and fire opposite the direction you want to travel. Shoot down to rise, left to move right, and toward your current motion to slow down. Use bullets to activate bulkhead switches and laser shutoff circuits, then reach the escape pod at the top of the five-stage facility.
Play link and controls
Play RECOIL UNIT, a free PC-and-mouse browser action game by rinrin, released October 21, 2026. Choose Pulse (one shot) or Burst (three shots) on the title screen; that choice remains fixed until escape. Move the mouse to aim, left-click to fire, hold the button to keep firing, press R to restart the current section, and Esc to pause or resume. There are no conventional movement or jump keys.
The route from launch to escape
- Select a weapon on the title screen. Pulse is a sensible learning experiment for observing individual shots, not an officially proven easier mode.
- Fire downward to climb. To travel right, fire left; to travel left, fire right. Each shot propels the robot away from the muzzle direction.
- Watch your momentum. Firing in the direction you are already moving acts as a brake. Use controlled countershots rather than endlessly accelerating.
- When a bulkhead blocks progress, aim at its switch and fire. This is also a shooting puzzle, not just a platforming challenge.
- When a laser blocks the route, find and shoot its shutdown circuit. The public instructions do not provide switch coordinates or a required shot count.
- Clear each of the five stages and work toward the escape pod on the highest floor. Use R to retry a section when your approach fails.
Action table
| Situation | Input | Expected result and basis |
|---|---|---|
| Need to go up | Aim down and fire | Rise; developer's instructions |
| Need to go right | Aim left and fire | Move right; developer's instructions |
| Need to go left | Aim right and fire | Move left; opposite-recoil rule |
| Too much momentum | Fire along travel direction | Brake; developer's instructions |
| Closed bulkhead or active laser | Shoot the relevant switch or circuit | Operate the obstacle; official description |
| Stuck in a section | Press R | Restart that section; official controls |
| Want a leaderboard run | Start at the title and clear all five stages in order | Eligible total time; official rules |
Pulse versus Burst and the clock
Pulse fires one shot; Burst fires three in succession. Try Pulse to study single corrections and Burst to explore a different firing rhythm. The developer has not declared one the fastest, and no measured comparison is presented here.
The two weapons have separate leaderboards. Only a consecutive five-stage run starting from the title qualifies. Practice from stage select does not. Deaths, recovery delays and R restarts count toward elapsed time; time spent paused, in settings, or waiting on a stage-clear screen does not. Consistent braking may save more time than repeatedly restarting.
FAQ and limitations
Why don't WASD or Space work? Movement and jumping have been replaced by recoil. Why did shooting right send me left? That's the core mechanic: aim left to travel right. Where are the exact switches in each stage? The developer's public guide doesn't map their positions. These instructions are based on the official rules; the complete stage layouts and a verified record-speed route have not been personally played through.
Bottom line
Shoot opposite your destination, counterfire to brake, use bullets to operate the machinery, and escape through all five sections. Your gun is simultaneously your engine, brakes and key.
