Rollercoaster Racer review

I am increasingly finding myself spending time with two types of mobile games on opposite ends of the same spectrum. On one end are the super-involved and complicated games you might expect to find more of on consoles or PC, and on the other end are very light, almost barebones arcade types like Rollercoaster Racer. Everything in between feels like a compromise I typically don't enjoy making, so I'm actually quite glad such quick-play racers like Rollercoaster Racer continue releasing, especially when they are free.

As the name suggests, Rollercoaster Racer is a racing game, pitting two coaster trains against each other. Train racing doesn't require any steering thanks to the rails these machines have to run on, so instead, how you control acceleration gets quite inventive.

At various points on any given track, Rollercoaster Racer gives you a meter displaying an upcoming track segment. Dotted along this segment meter are somewhat randomised scoring spots that you have to tap as close to when your train passes those points as possible to earn as many points as possible. Points correspond with speed, and your general goal in Rollercoaster Racer is to beat the other train car in a two-lap race.

Races in Rollercoaster Racer only last a little over a minute and demand just a few taps from you, but this speed and simplicity result in a powerfully sticky combination. It embodies the spirit of some of my favourite old arcade games that build a surprisingly high skill ceiling into a concept that is so easy to grasp that basically anyone can pick it up and instantly understand it.

If that wasn't enough, Rollercoaster Racer smartly and carefully builds a few meta layers on top of its simple gameplay, and these things give it just enough depth that it continues to feel rewarding even after the instant novelty wears off. Chaining together good scores on sections can earn bonus points that pop up as various carnival foods with eyes on them. There are ways to modify the amount of score points that pop up to change up any given level's patterns, achievements, challenge levels, and even some surprisingly competent multiplayer options for local and online play.

Rollercoaster Racer is completely free without ads, and its only in-app purchase is an optional pack of additional tracks with a desert theme. For that asking price, this is a pretty amazing package. As high as I am on the game, though, it is not without a few minor drawbacks.

The main thing that has bothered me about Rollercoaster Racer is how long it can take to restart tracks. For a game that eventually becomes all about trying and retrying the same tracks to try and up your score to unlock newer ones, it can be onerous to play through a run that got botched early or otherwise pause the action to pull up a menu that can take you back to the main menu, reselect the track, and start over again. I can see a case being made that having an instant restart goes against Rollercoaster Racer's arcade spirit, and I respect that, but only to a point.

If someone dropped a Rollercoaster Racer arcade cabinet into the world, I could see myself spending a lot of quarters on it, racing friends or just trying to top the high score charts. I have had the opportunity to do this with many other mobile games that have been turned into real arcade games, but I have not actually wanted to. There's more thrill factor to Rollercoaster Racer, and I'm not just saying that because of its theming.