Race the Sun – Preview
Race the Sun is a game made by Flippfly. A game which is so simple in design, yet so addictive.
You are an unmanned aircraft which is fueled by sunlight. Stay too long in the shadows and your trip will be cut short. You fly around avoiding obstacles and staying out in the sun, and try to travel as far as possible. That’s the whole concept. Then why is it so addictive? The secret lies in the fact that you level up by completing targets. There’s a whole of 10 levels to gain and every time you do you’ll unlock extras. Either upgrades to your ship or just power ups you can collect throughout the levels. You steer your vehicle with the arrow keys, though the controls can be modified for the hardcore gamers, and space lets you use power ups.
Every 24 hours the game resets, so the levels constantly change. You could be doing fine one day, breezing through the levels, only to have yourself straining to navigate them the next.
Some things you need to know about the game:
- 1. The world in Race the Sun is new every day (the scoreboards are reset each day as well)
- 2. Completing objectives unlocks new stuff in the game (and increases your player level)
- 3. You can create your own worlds to race in and share them! (see the “World Creator”)
- 4. Once you earn player level 6 you can start a relay run!
The game has the whole: easy to learn, hard to master, under its rule.
You’ll be dodging objects through the areas. The first area will be easy, you’ll see them coming from miles away, and you’ll easily dodge them. Then at the second region, things get mixed up, the grey area will be littered with red colored objects, which move. These movements are often last minute so you’ll have to time your trajectory and make some split second decisions which could end up in you crashing into a wall. Not only the red blocks move, sometimes grey blocks will move to form holes through a wall through which you can pass. You’ll even pass through portals into another dimension, one filled with asteroids and spaceships. Once you’ve completed this one, you’ll end up again at the start of a next region.
The first upgrade you’ll receive is the ‘extra sunlight crystal’, this will buy you more time as you progress through the regions. Next up is the ‘jump’ ability, once you’ve picked up this crystal and pressed the action button, you will be propelled skywards, out of the possible danger.
Every day, there’s another quote on the startup screen. Then your vehicle will zoom in and the music will start playing, it’s a soft melody which will lull you into a relaxed mood. This actually helps against frustration as you crash into walls over and over again. The moment you crash into a wall, the music has a more vibrant feel to it.
When you’ve crashed headlong into a wall, mind you only head on collisions kill in this game, you’ll be transported to the goal progression screen. Here you’ll see what goals you need to achieve and what to do.
There’s a myriad of objectives, from ‘crash into a wall 10 times’, ‘gain 150 tris’ to ‘navigate through 3 regions’. There’s always one you can do to get some experience toward your level and ultimately to the max level which is 10.
It’s a bit of a shame that this game is so short leveling wise. Level 10 can be gotten in about 3 hours, depending on the layout of the levels, the skill of the gamer, and when which upgrade is used.
However, this game has quite an addictive nature. You might think: what’s there to be had after you gained level 10? There are always the leaderboards to conquer.
It has to be said that not all of the upgrades to your ship are useful. The first one will give you the magnet, which will pull boosts to your ship. The second one is a 2 time jump upgrade, and the last one, gained at level 10 is a ‘battery pack’ which lets you survive longer in the shadows.
Conclusion
A game which had me hooked, extremely addictive and fun. The minimalistic graphics make for a clear world, and make sure you aren’t too distracted. The changes to the worlds made every 24 hours, give you a daily challenge. A bit of a downer is the leveling stops at level 10.
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