Winning is Cheating in this futuristic racer set on rollercoaster-like tracks. Create shortcuts to cheat your way to the front. Beat a series of varied solo missions of increasing difficulty and then take your skills online in the cross-platform multiplayer, or battle your roomies in split-screen.
Players must navigate through winding, rollercoaster-like tracks that descend downwards without any barriers or edges to confine the ball-vehicle. This forces players to constantly seek out opportunities to take risky shortcuts by leaving the track and attempting to land back on it further ahead. The tracks are procedurally generated, ensuring that no two runs are ever the same and keeping the gameplay fresh and challenging.
The ability to take shortcuts off the track is the core gameplay hook. Players can fling themselves off the track in an attempt to bypass gates and checkpoints, but they only have around 5 seconds before respawning at the last checkpoint. Perfectly timing and executing these shortcut jumps and landings is crucial to maintaining the lead, but misjudging them can send players careening backwards. This delicate balance between risk and reward is a key part of the appeal, as players must constantly evaluate whether a shortcut is worth the potential cost of losing their position.
The game shines brightest in its local multiplayer modes, where up to 4 players race against each other on the same screen. Seeing opponents in real-time and being able to directly sabotage their runs by knocking them off the track adds an extra layer of intensity and chaos. Friends can trade the lead back and forth by pulling off daring shortcuts, leading to nail-biting finishes where every decision counts. The local multiplayer embodies the 'winning is cheating' philosophy, as players gleefully try to one-up each other through any means necessary.
For solo players, the game offers modes like Survival (seeing how far you can go without dying) and Time Gate (racing against the clock to hit checkpoints). While not as frenetic as multiplayer, these modes still provide a strong sense of satisfaction as players compete against global leaderboards to set new high scores. Mastering the art of taking shortcuts and maintaining momentum is key to climbing the leaderboards and becoming the ultimate 'cheater'.