Race The Sun

I remember this game from around 2014-2015 when there was a Humble Bundle giveaway. I skipped out back then on getting a key for the game, but it's always intrigued me and piqued my interest. Decided to buy the game in 2024, paying full price for it even (yes, I am INSANE).
Honestly? Replayable and relaxing. I don't find the controls to be difficult, the turning feels responsive, although not a fan of the fact that after a turn, your aircraft "drifts" a little bit, sometimes making for precision to be really difficult. Had a fair few frustrating deaths with it.
There is one big "BUT" with this version of the game, primarily in the fact that the online servers seem to be offline. I say "seem", because while the "News" feature is completely broken and doesn't load anything, playing the game still actually gives you your "daily rank", implying people are playing this? I don't buy it though, considering the 24-hour peak as of March 5th, 2024 is only 14 people. Don't get how my daily rank could be in the thousands when there's so few people playing.
There's another caveat. There is a mobile version of the game called "RACE THE SUN CHALLENGE EDITION", and with my brief time with it - it seems to be the same game as this, just free-to-play and with microtransactions...which makes the older Steam version better by default for me. Please do keep this in mind before purchasing and whether you're fine with that or not. I'm personally fine with it, but you might not be.
I like this game but I just wish this version of the game, you know, the one that costs money wasn't so abandoned. It's fun, relaxing, challenging and OW MY EARS when you crash into something.

This is a game that everyone should have in their library. It's great for families too, my oldest loves to compete with me and my younger ones don't care how many times they die, it's still a blast for them.
You can break it out for a quick game or two even when you're short of time in your life. Its always exciting and its always fun. The game has aged like good wine, it could even be released today with no alterations.
Really, go ahead and just buy it. You'll not regret it.

It's a fairly simple, minimalist runner where you go until the sun sets or you crash. That's not to say it's bad, though - it's very well made and pretty chill. There are numerous powerups you can use and the levels are procedurally generated. There are also upgrades and decals you can customize your ship with.
In addition to the main game mode there's a couple variations that are pretty fun; Apocalypse for a brutal challenge or Labyrinth for a chill maze. Note that the servers are offline now, so the leaderboards no longer function.

One of my favorite pick up and play games on the Vita. Wonderful memories. So glad it's on Steam too. A perfect portable game once again on the Deck. <3

Race the Sun is a simplistic racing game where you quite literally race the sun. You have a solar powered vehicle and you'll fail if the sun sets on the horizon. There's not too much to the game but the controls are tight and it does exactly what you want it to do. Pick it up for a few minutes or sit there for a long session if you're in the mood. It's a really fun little arcade style racer.

Race The Sun is a runner/racer game where you mainly move from side to side to avoid obstacles and collect points and power ups. It's also partially a roguelite, as you do run after run in the same area with unlockable upgrades to enhance your abilities. So far, so common. What is unique about the game is its timer; as the title refers to, you travel towards the setting sun and when it disappears below the horizon, your run is over.

That's the game. It's simple, effective and surprisingly sophisticated. That sounds pretentious, but let me explain. Your ship is solar powered, which is the in-universe reason why you "die" when the sun sets – you simply run out of power. What is so great about that is how it impacts the actual run. As your run progresses, the sun gets lower and crucially, the shadows get longer. If you stay in the shadows too long, you power down, so the setting sun becomes a natural part of the challenge curve. The further you get, the more shadows there are, the more difficult the game gets. It just makes sense.

On top of that, there's the power ups. Throughout the game, there are nodes that you can collect in order to jump, get an extra life or a boost. The boost is the brilliant one, quite literally; If you collect a boost, the sun rewinds and rises a fair bit. It's a crucial part of extending your run. At the same time, this game is all about dodging obstacles, which means that the boost is a double-edged sword. You get speed and more time before the sun sets, but you also get a higher risk of crashing. It's a risk/reward system, and it's great.

There are more surprises throughout the game that I won't spoil. What I will say is that the best thing about the game is how everything fits together. There's no narrative or anything, and yet there is a cohesion to what you're doing and the world around you. There is a sense of desperation in chasing the sun, a quest you're doomed to fail. When the sun does disappear over the horizon, there is no instant return to the menu; instead your ship slows down to a crawl, allowing you time to collect one or two more nodes, until it finally stops. If you want to read something into that, you can, which is not something I expected. All of it just fits together seamlessly in a way that is difficult to explain.

Race The Sun is a simple game and I know I'm guilty of making a chicken out of a feather in my description here, but there is just something to the game that engaged me more than it should have. With that said, above all else, this is a fun runner and a really good game. If I didn't have a massive backlog to get through, I could very much imagine myself playing this game a lot more. Cruising through those blocky but elegant environments and chasing that horizon while listening to a podcast or some music in the background. Some games just have an enjoyable vibe, for the lack of a better word, and I hope I've given a half-decent view of that.

If you've gotten this far, you know what I'm going to say: You should get this game. I doubt you'll regret it.

A beautiful never ending race. Race the sun is an incredibly chill game, yet dynamic on higher levels - absolutely recommended!