City Slash gives you three ways to keep your progress: local saves, a Google Play Games cloud copy on Android, and a separate ZIP archive. Local saves let you carry on playing on the same device. The cloud can carry permanent progress between Android devices. When you export an archive, you choose where to keep it.
What travels with you
Your permanent profile includes crystals, campaign progress, permanent upgrades, unlocked and purchased fighters, and Arena records. A full backup also covers all three open-world slots, including characters, inventory, equipment, quests, decisions, the explored map and your markers.
The full export doesn't capture a campaign run in progress. The combat level and upgrades you've earned during that run are separate from permanent purchases. Language and sound settings stay on the device too.
Before switching devices, it's a good idea to finish the fight and return to the main menu. A ZIP won't put you back at the exact moment you left a battle.
Local saves come first
The game writes your progress to the device first. You don't need a City Slash account. You can play without a connection, but the latest changes may still be waiting to reach Google.
Internal backup files can help with recovery. They live alongside the game's own data. Export an archive somewhere outside the app before uninstalling or clearing its data, since doing either can also remove those internal copies.
Using the Android cloud
Open Progress backup from the main menu. On Android, when the integration is available, the Cloud saves section contains Save to cloud automatically. Sync needs an available Google Play Games service, the right account and a connection.
Normally the game uploads changes to permanent progress. If it finds different versions of your playthrough, it asks you to choose. Replacing the local save with a cloud copy requires confirmation.
Read the status as well as the switch. “There are changes waiting to upload” means the upload is pending. “Waiting for a connection” means the changes are still on this device. During a transfer, keep the game installed until you see “The service confirmed the cloud copy”. Check the last confirmation time, which is shown in UTC.
To check manually, select Check Google Play Games cloud. Compare the device and cloud summaries, then choose whether to upload the local version or restore the cloud copy. You'll see a confirmation before replacement.
Turning automatic sync off leaves the existing cloud copy in place. On Windows and macOS, use local saves and ZIP export. Google Play Games cloud saves are available on Android.
When two versions differ
Suppose you've played on two phones and one was offline. A higher crystal balance doesn't necessarily mean a save is newer: you may have spent crystals on an upgrade. Compare campaign progress, character names and levels, world details and the copy time. Choose the playthrough you want to continue.
The game doesn't add the currency, items or rewards from two saves together. Restoring replaces the permanent profile and all three world slots as a set. You can't import one character from a full backup while keeping the other slots untouched.
Sometimes Google Play Games itself holds two conflicting versions. The game first offers to keep one cloud version and saves both as backup ZIPs on the device. It then compares the chosen cloud version with your local progress. Selecting a cloud branch doesn't replace the device save yet. Export a separate archive if you plan to uninstall.
Moving progress with a ZIP
- On the old device, open Progress backup and select Export all progress.
- In the system picker, choose a location outside the app, such as Downloads or an available document provider. Wait for the success message.
- Copy the ZIP to the new device or keep an extra copy on a computer. Make sure you can find it outside the app before uninstalling.
- On the new device, open Progress backup, select Import ZIP and choose the archive.
- Read the summary, then select Replace progress when you're ready.
If you've already played on the new device, export that progress first. Even an empty slot in the full backup replaces an occupied slot on the destination. The game makes an internal backup before replacement. An external export gives you a copy you can reach independently.
Older world-only archives replace the three world slots and leave campaign progress intact. Check the confirmation to see which kind of archive you're importing. The game may reject a damaged or unsupported file. If the save comes from a newer version, update the game before restoring.
Before switching phones or reinstalling
Make an external export before reinstalling, switching phones or importing progress you care about. If you also use the cloud, check the service confirmation. A ZIP is a snapshot of the moment you made it. Later victories and purchases can only be recovered from a copy that already includes them.