Race The Sun
Rate itSteer a solar craft toward the setting sun through a world that is rebuilt every day.
on flippfly.com
Race the Sun is an arcade game from Flippfly: you fly a solar-powered craft at speed through a field of obstacles, catching boosts to keep the sun from setting. The world is rebuilt every 24 hours, so the course and its leaderboard are new each day and the same for everyone.
About Race The Sun
Race the Sun was released on Steam in December 2013 by Flippfly, the studio that also made Absolute Drift and Whisker Squadron. You fly a solar-powered craft that only moves while the sun is up. The sun sinks steadily toward the horizon, shadows from buildings and clouds slow you down, and the only way to buy more time is to fly through boosts that push the sun back up. The run ends when you crash or the sun goes down, and your score depends on distance and on a multiplier you build by collecting blue triangles called Tris.
What makes it a daily game is the world. Every 24 hours it is rebuilt by shuffling its regions into a new order, and the in-game menu shows a countdown to the next reset. Everyone flies through the same world on a given day, and each day's world has its own leaderboard. You cannot go back to an earlier day's world, so a strong score has to be set before the countdown runs out.
Unlike most daily runs, you can retry as many times as you like. Runs are short, often only a few minutes, so the day becomes a series of attempts in which you learn where the boosts are and which paths through each region stay in the light. Not every route plays the same even within one day, because you can steer into different parts of a region. Between dailies there are objectives that level up your craft to unlock jumps, portals and upgrades, a harder Apocalypse world, and community-made worlds.
The game suits players who like short arcade sessions and a high score to chase. Besides Windows, Mac and Linux on Steam, where it can also be played in VR on Windows, it is on PlayStation 4 and on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. The free Challenge Edition on iOS and Android has its own daily challenge system.
On a Mac the store you buy from matters. Steam lists the Mac version for OS X 10.7 to 10.9 only and marks it as not compatible with macOS 10.15 Catalina or later, so the Steam client may refuse to start it on a current Mac. GOG sells a DRM-free build for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the Challenge Edition from the App Store is an iPad app that Apple lists as not verified on Apple silicon Macs.
How to play Race The Sun
- Start Race the Sun and check the world reset countdown in the menu to see how long today's world lasts.
- Start a run and steer left and right to dodge obstacles; later levels add jumps you can trigger with the jump button.
- Fly through boosts to push the sun back up, and avoid long stretches of shadow, which slow you down.
- Collect Tris to raise your score multiplier, and do not hit obstacles, which cost speed and multiplier.
- When the run ends, check your place on today's leaderboard and try again; you can race the same world until it resets.
Screenshots
Tips
- Spend your first few runs of the day learning where the boosts sit in each region; the layout stays put until the reset.
- Shadows matter more as the sun gets low, so pick open paths late in a run.
- A light bump does not end the run but costs speed and some multiplier, so give obstacles a wide berth.
- Finish the level objectives to unlock the Battery and Magnet upgrades, which make longer daily runs easier.
- Set your top score before the countdown ends; old worlds cannot be replayed.
Questions
When does the Race the Sun world change?
Every 24 hours. The game shows a countdown to the next world reset.
Is the daily world the same for everyone?
Yes. Everyone flies the same world on a given day, and each world has its own leaderboard.
How many attempts do I get?
As many as you like until the world resets. Runs are short, so most players make many attempts a day.
Can I play older worlds?
No. Once the world resets, the previous day's layout is gone.
Is Race the Sun free?
It is paid on Steam, PlayStation and Xbox. The Challenge Edition for iOS and Android is free to download and has its own daily challenge system.
Can I play Race the Sun in VR?
Yes, on Steam. The store page lists VR support, for Windows only.
Does Race the Sun run on a Mac?
There is a Mac version, but Steam lists it for OS X 10.7 to 10.9 and says it is not compatible with macOS 10.15 Catalina or later, so the Steam copy may not launch on a recent Mac. GOG sells a macOS build without DRM, and the iPad Challenge Edition can be installed on Apple silicon Macs from the App Store, though Apple lists it as not verified for macOS.
Ratings and reviews
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