Overdrive
Pseudo-3D coastal racer. Beat the clock through checkpoints, dodge traffic and take the curves flat out at 290 km/h.
How to play
- Arrows steer
- Up accelerate
- Down brake
- P pause
- Enter or tap to start · M to mute
Touch controls appear automatically on phones and tablets. Your best score is saved in this browser and only reaches a leaderboard if you submit it (privacy). Press the fullscreen button for the full cabinet effect.
About this game
Overdrive is a race against the clock on one looping road of hills, S-bends and a hairpin. You start with 30 seconds, every gate adds more, and each completed lap changes the scenery and the music.
Goal: Keep the clock from running out for as long as you can; points come from distance driven plus 1,000 for each completed lap.
Overdrive is an original racer built for the browser in the style of 1980s arcade cabinets: pixel art, a chiptune soundtrack and CRT scanlines, all generated in code. It is free, has no ads and needs no download or account.
What’s inside
- 5 scenes: Coast Highway, Desert Dusk, Neon Sunset, Midnight City and Arctic Aurora, each with its own music
- Pick your starting scene on the title screen
- 2 checkpoints plus the start gate on every lap
- Endless stages, with the time bonus shrinking from 19 seconds to a floor of 12
- Players
- 1 player
- On a phone
- Hold anywhere to accelerate, hold the left or right third of the screen to steer, hold the Brake zone at the bottom centre to brake, and tap the timer at the top to pause.
- Round length
- A first run usually lasts 1-3 minutes; strong runs that keep reaching checkpoints can go much longer.
Tips
- Stay on the tarmac: off the road your speed is cut to a quarter of the maximum, and clipping a roadside sign or tree drops you almost to a stop.
- Curves push the car outward at speed, so start steering into a bend before you reach it rather than braking.
- Rear-ending traffic drops you to the other car's speed, so change lanes early when you see a slower car or truck ahead.
Questions
How do I get more time in Overdrive?
Drive through a checkpoint or the start gate. Each one adds time, starting at 19 seconds and dropping by one second per stage until it bottoms out at 12.
How do I pause on a phone?
Tap the timer at the top centre of the screen. Tap again to resume.
Leaderboards Today’s challenge
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Scores are highest first. Your best is read from this browser when you submit; three initials, arcade style.
