Race the Sun

Race the Sun is an endless racer set in an abstract environment. The player controls a solar craft hovering above the surface and it needs to survive as long as possible, racing after the sun that provides the power to move on. The game world is procedurally generated and changes each day. It is divided into regions with a completely different lay-out each day, but with fixed mutators for each region to build a similar difficulty curve for every session.

To survive the craft needs to dodge moving and falling blocks, pillars, shapes and projectiles that appear in quick succession. Acceleration is done automatically and it cannot be slowed down. The craft can be steered left and right endlessly, as there is no border to the game world. The quickest way to gain speed is by picking up yellow boost items, slightly reversing the sun path for a while. Green items provide a jump that can be triggered at any moment, allowing the craft to fly. Purple ones provide a second chance after a crash. Obstacles are not the only concern, as tunnels, clouds or objects blacking out the sun also need to be avoided as they deplete the available energy. The game is over when there is no more sunlight or after a crash. Along the way blue tris can be collected, triangles that add up to a score multiplier. When bumping into an obstacle, not causing a complete collision, some speed is lost and the multiplier is reset. The gameplay is fast-paced and requires good reflexes in the later regions. By steering in a certain direction and quickly switching, a barrel roll can be performed.

The game offers different objectives that can be completed over multiple sessions, such as achieving a certain amount of air time, clearing a region without a single collision, collecting a number of tris, achieving a certain score etc. This allows the craft to level up with a cap at 25. With almost every level some new options become available, such as decals for the ship or attachments. The latter include a magnet that collects nearby pick-ups automatically, a battery to survive longer without energy, storage for multiple jump pick-ups or shields etc. These have an upgraded version as well. It is possible to fit multiple attachments at a certain level and another type of bonus provides a higher multiplier level at the start.

After a while a secondary Apocalypse mode is unlocked, set in a different world with a higher difficulty level and meteorites that cause temporary blindness. The game’s editor support the creation and sharing of user made levels through the Steam workshop. These can be downloaded and played separately and some are also accessed in the game’s main mode through world portals in the game world, temporarily moving the game into a very different environment before continuing. There are global leaderboards to compare scores.

In February 2015 the unlockable Labyrinthia mode was added. It is an advanced, randomized maze filled with obstacles, switches and moving parts. It largely takes the sun and reflex based movement out of the equation in favour of planning ahead. It uses a more zoomed out view.