Screenshots
Crater Raider
Crater Raider is a 1984 arcade action game developed by Bally Midway. The player navigates a tank across a top-down lunar or alien terrain filled with craters, enemy vehicles, and obstacles. The objective is to destroy enemy units while avoiding hazards and managing the uneven crater-covered landscape. Players use a joystick and fire button to control their tank's movement and shooting. The game features increasingly difficult waves of enemies as play progresses, requiring players to balance offensive tactics with evasive movement. The crater terrain itself affects mobility, making navigation a key challenge alongside combat. Points are earned by eliminating enemies, and the single-player format focuses on achieving high scores across escalating difficulty.
- Developer
- Bally Midway
- Released
- 1984
- Platform
- Arcade
- Genre
- Action
- Players
- 1P
- Rating
- 4.8 / 5 (3.5K)
- Last updated
Crater Raider Controls — Arcade Keyboard Keys
Default keyboard bindings for Crater Raider on our in-browser Arcade emulator. Plug in a USB or Bluetooth gamepad to auto-detect mappings, or rebind any key from the emulator settings menu.
| Keyboard | Console button | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| ↑ | Joystick Up | Move up |
| ↓ | Joystick Down | Move down |
| ← | Joystick Left | Move left |
| → | Joystick Right | Move right |
| X | Button 1 | Primary action (jump / confirm) |
| Z | Button 2 | Secondary action (attack / cancel) |
| S | Button 3 | Tertiary action |
| A | Button 4 | Quaternary action |
| Q | Button 5 | Fifth button |
| W | Button 6 | Sixth button |
| 5 | Insert Coin | Insert coin |
| 1 | 1P Start | Start / Pause |
Coin and Start are convention "Insert Coin: 5" and "1P Start: 1". Some arcade boards expect specific button mappings — check the in-game prompts on coin-up.
Rebind any key from the EmulatorJS in-game settings menu (gear icon → Controls). A connected gamepad auto-maps to the same buttons.
Crater Raider Longplay & Gameplay Videos
Watch a full playthrough of Crater Raider on Arcade before you dive in — recommended for getting a feel for the game's pacing, story beats, and difficulty curve.
Watch longplay on YouTube
"Crater Raider" Arcade longplay 1984
External references
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Crater Raider released?
Crater Raider was released in 1984 for the Arcade.
Who developed Crater Raider?
Crater Raider was developed by Bally Midway, available to play in your browser on RetroGameSpace.
How many players does Crater Raider support?
Crater Raider is a single-player Action game for the Arcade.
What type of game is Crater Raider?
Crater Raider is a Action game for the Arcade, playable instantly in your browser — no downloads, no installs.
How can I play Crater Raider for free?
Open this page and click "Play Now" — Crater Raider runs free in your browser via WebAssembly emulation. No account, no payment, no installer.
Do I need to download anything to play Crater Raider in the browser?
No. Crater Raider streams from a public archive into a browser-side Arcade emulator. Nothing is installed on your computer.
Can I save my progress in Crater Raider?
Yes. Save states are stored in your browser (IndexedDB) per game, and you can also use any in-game save the original Arcade cartridge supported.
Does Crater Raider work on mobile devices?
Yes — the Arcade emulator runs on iOS Safari and Android Chrome. Touch controls overlay the game; landscape mode is recommended.
Is it legal to play Crater Raider this way?
RetroGameSpace is a transient caching reverse-proxy and does not host first-party copies of Crater Raider. Game files are fetched on demand from publicly-accessible archives. You are responsible for compliance with your local laws and the bring-your-own-ROM principle.
