Gameplay

On the surface, Super Impossible Road seems like a straight forward racing game. These assumptions are quickly flipped on their head once you start the tutorial and are instructed to find “shortcuts” to the finish line. To help save as much time as possible, you are encouraged to jump the track you are on as it loops and twists around in space. Each jump can either save precious seconds or cause you to restart if you overestimate your skills. The constant risk/reward of jumping the track and trying to land closer to the goal makes Super Impossible Road unique.

Super Impossible Road consists of five different modes: Career, Race, Online Race, Time Gate, and Classic Mode. Racing and Time Gate are pretty self-explanatory. Classic Mode challenges you to cross as many checkpoints as possible without falling off the track. Career Mode encompasses all these modes, except Online Race, and gives you a convenient path to follow as the game’s difficulty increases.

Career mode is split into a handful of different challenges. They range from your standard race against AI to more complex ones that force you to jump from the track to obtain floating rings. The game does a great job of separating the different challenges so that you never feel bored.

The first half of career mode is rather easy. I was able to effortlessly obtain three-star ratings after a single playthrough of each stage. Now, don’t think that the first half’s simplicity makes the game dull. You have to constantly create new strategies of how to cheat your way through each track’s unique design as you progress. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the game as I leaped from the track, soared through space, and flew towards the finish line.

There is a pretty steep incline of difficulty once you reach the halfway point of career mode. Some races with the AI forced me to keep replaying a track numerous times to find the best shortcuts to the finish line. There were a few times I became frustrated as the AI completed perfect jump after perfect jump. However, after a few attempts, I was able to place first and continue onto new stages.

After struggling with one of the middle stages for way too long, I explored the ship customizer to see if there was an upgrade I was missing to defeat the challenging AI. Super Impossible Road allows you to customize every inch of your ship, with sci-fi inspired names for many of the parts. I was finally able to beat the challenging middle portion of the game after I customized my ship to allow for better “Air Drop Control.” I think it’s almost impossible to get through the second half of the game without using the ship customizer.

The simple game mechanic of leaping off tracks and trying to cheat your way to the finish line is incredibly fun. Even during the easy stages, I was having a blast finding different shortcuts to beat each challenge. The difficult gameplay of Super Impossible Road’s later stages reminded me of Cuphead, where the difficultly was brutal at times. However, with a little practice, you can undoubtedly beat a stage.

Graphics

The graphics of Super Impossible Road are simple but very engaging for a racing game. Most of the game’s design consist of basic geometric shapes, and bright neon colors dropped into a space-themed environment. The bright neon and racing elements made everything feel like a modern Tron game.

Super Impossible Road has you maneuvering around tracks floating above planets, black holes, and stars. The space theme fits in perfectly with the racing and neon lights aesthetic. Super Impossible Road’s graphics never felt dull as I progressed through the game, even though there were times when environments were reused.

Each environment in the game has a magnificent look and feel. The star stages especially stand out due to the exceptional detail of the star hovering below as you play. Maneuvering around the track with a star just beneath your ship feels real, even on my iPhone X screen. If Super Impossible Road is ever ported for VR, the star stages would be exciting to maneuver around in.

Controls

The controls to Super Impossible Road are intuitive and make maneuvering your vehicle effortless. Simple taps on either side of the screen nudge your vehicle around the game’s winding tracks. The touch controls never felt sluggish as I maneuvered around tight turns, or leaped off of the track to land closer to the goal. Even the simple press and hold on both sides of the screen to activate your ship’s boost works perfectly.

I did struggle a little bit with the swipe down control, which resets your vehicle to the last checkpoint. I always struggle with swipe controls on mobile games, so you may not experience this issue. However, I rarely used the swipe control during gameplay. Whenever I fell off a track or missed a jump, it was always better to restart the race since I already lost too much time during the failed maneuver.

As with most of the Apple Arcade games I’ve tested, playing with a controller makes the game even more enjoyable. The analog stick on the PS4 controller allows you to maneuver around tracks smoothly and gives you more control during some of the challenging stages. I would highly recommend you play Super Impossible Road with a controller if you have one.

Conclusion

Super Impossible Road is by far one of my favorite Apple Arcade games I’ve played since launch. Everything from the Tron-like graphics, tight controls, and unique gameplay makes the game stand out. There have been thousands of racing games created over the past few decades, but Super Impossible Road takes the racing genre in a new bold direction. Even after finishing this review, I still come back to the game whenever I have a spare few minutes since the gameplay is so enjoyable.

I can confidently say Super Impossible Road is a must-play if you are subscribed to Apple Arcade. You will be hooked the moment after you jump off of a track for the first time.

Ranking

Graphics: 5/5
Controls: 4/5
Gameplay: 5/5