Star Wars: Rebel Assault

Fly as a Rebel pilot through asteroid fields, Star Destroyer assaults, and the trench of the Death Star in this cinematic Star Wars action game. Rebel Assault is free to play on this page, with no file to fetch, no setup and no account. LucasArts built it in 1993 as a showcase for CD-ROM, and the video-backed rail shooter opens here in seconds rather than spinning up a disc. Steering and shooting fall to the same hand, so a mouse or a keyboard beats a thumb on glass.

How to Play Star Wars: Rebel Assault Online

Getting into the action takes seconds:

1. Click the Play button to begin loading Rebel Assault's CD-ROM data.
2. Give it a moment — the video-heavy opening has to buffer before the LucasArts logo appears.
3. Click inside the game frame so your steering and fire commands reach the cockpit instead of the page.
4. Start a new game and begin your training as a Rebel pilot.
5. Steer your craft, dodge obstacles, and blast enemies through each on-rails level.

Rebel Assault is an on-rails shooter — your craft moves automatically, so focus on steering to dodge hazards and aiming your shots at enemies.

Controls

Star Wars: Rebel Assault is played with the mouse or keyboard:

Because the game is on rails, your ship flies the course automatically — your job is to steer to dodge obstacles and enemy fire while aiming and shooting the TIE fighters, turrets, and targets that appear.

What Is Star Wars: Rebel Assault?

Star Wars: Rebel Assault is a rail-shooter action game developed and published by LucasArts in 1993 for MS-DOS (on CD-ROM) and other platforms. It casts you as Rookie One, a young pilot training with and fighting for the Rebel Alliance, across a series of on-rails action levels that recreate and reimagine famous Star Wars scenarios — flying through asteroid fields, dueling TIE fighters, attacking Star Destroyers, and making the legendary trench run on the Death Star. It was one of the showcase CD-ROM titles of its era.

Rebel Assault is remembered as a landmark of early-1990s multimedia gaming, dazzling players with its cinematic presentation — full-motion video backdrops, digitized Star Wars footage and effects, and an immersive audiovisual experience that pushed CD-ROM technology. Gameplay is in the rail-shooter tradition: your craft (or character) follows a set path while you steer to dodge and aim to shoot, putting you in the cockpit of iconic Star Wars vehicles like the X-wing and snowspeeder. While more about spectacle and reflexes than deep mechanics, its faithful recreation of Star Wars action and its technical ambition made it a hugely popular and memorable classic for fans.

How the Game Works / Gameplay Basics

The game is an on-rails shooter: in each level, your vehicle or character travels along a predetermined path automatically, and your job is to steer within the lane to dodge incoming obstacles and enemy fire while aiming and firing at the enemies and targets that appear. You don't control where you go overall — the level flies you through its cinematic sequence — but quick reflexes for dodging and accurate shooting determine whether you survive and succeed. Levels recreate a range of Star Wars set-pieces, putting you in craft like the X-wing, T-16, and snowspeeder.

Across its chapters, Rebel Assault takes you through training exercises and escalating combat missions — navigating asteroid fields, taking on TIE fighters and Imperial Walkers, assaulting capital ships, and culminating in the iconic Death Star trench run. The challenge lies in mastering each level's hazards and enemy patterns through your reflexes, often requiring a few attempts to learn what's coming. The emphasis is on cinematic spectacle and action rather than complex strategy, immersing you in the sights and sounds of the Star Wars universe. For fans, the thrill of piloting beloved ships through famous battles, backed by the game's impressive presentation, is the heart of the experience.

Beginner Tips

• Focus on dodging. Your craft flies itself, so steer to avoid hazards and enemy fire.
• Aim ahead. Lead your shots to hit fast-moving TIE fighters and targets.
• Learn the levels. Each stage has set patterns — expect to retry and memorize them.
• Stay centered. Keep room to maneuver so you can dodge in any direction.
• Prioritize threats. Shoot the most dangerous enemies and obstacles first.
• Don't panic. Smooth, steady steering beats frantic over-correcting.

Why Play Star Wars: Rebel Assault Online?

This landmark of Star Wars spectacle is now a tab away. It was a showcase disc that demanded a working CD drive and a sound card configured by hand; both requirements have simply gone, replaced by one button. A chapter runs only a few minutes, so it is easy to drop in for the trench run alone — or to see for the first time what a 1993 CD-ROM was meant to look like.

Nothing is copied onto your own disk, which means almost any modern machine can put you in the X-wing cockpit. That is quite a turnaround for a release that was sold on being hard to run at all.

Troubleshooting

• Game won't start? Rebel Assault pulls far more data on its first load than a typical DOS game, so refresh and let the black screen sit a few extra seconds before clicking anything.
• Controls not responding? Click once inside the game frame — the rail sequences only read your steering once the frame has focus.
• Running slowly? The video backdrops running behind every level are the most demanding part of the game, so close other browser tabs and heavy applications.
• No sound? Most of Rebel Assault's audio is digitized speech and music played back alongside the video, so check that your tab isn't muted and your system volume is up.
• Screen too small? Use fullscreen mode; the game renders at a low resolution, and a larger window makes oncoming obstacles far easier to pick out of the footage.
• Dying often? Learn each level's patterns through practice, and focus on dodging first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Star Wars: Rebel Assault free to play online? Yes. This was one of the discs people bought a CD drive for in 1993, and it costs nothing to fly here.

Do I need the Rebel Assault discs or a DOS emulator of my own? No. The game data is streamed to the page and the emulator runs inside it, so you need neither the original CD nor any software of your own.

Can I play Rebel Assault on mobile? You can, though the rails give you a fraction of a second to nudge the craft clear of an obstacle, and a finger parked over the screen hides the very thing you are dodging.

Is this the original 1993 Rebel Assault? Yes, this is the classic LucasArts rail-shooter that recreated famous Star Wars battles.

What kind of game is Rebel Assault? It's an on-rails cinematic shooter where you pilot Star Wars craft through iconic action sequences.

Can I save my progress? The game is level-based, using a password/save system — note your progress as you advance through the chapters.

The galaxy far, far away and the Death Star trench await. Load it up and fly for the Rebellion.