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Impossible Road
App cover
Developer(s)Kevin Ng
Publisher(s)Kevin Ng
Engine
Platform(s)iOS, Android
Release
  • iOS
    • WW: May 9, 2013
  • Android
    • WW: April 8, 2014
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player

Impossible Road is a minimalist action video game created by Canadian indie developer Kevin Ng. It was released for iOS in 2013, and later for Android.

Gameplay

A game of Impossible Road in progress

The player is tasked with keeping a white ball (called "The Vessel")[1] on the road for as long as possible without falling off.[2] The road has procedurally generated twists, turns[3] and dives[2] and is endless.[3] The player controls the ball by tapping (with two fingers)[4] left or right on the screen. Each time the player passes a numbered checkpoint line, the player gains a point (several if they missed some checkpoints in between).[1] The player can "cheat" and fall off the road and land on a road section further on the road.[5] When the player dies (after several seconds of free fall), the player is presented with the option to play again.[1] The player can see how many checkpoint lines they crossed and how many they skipped.[2]

A later update allowed the player to select a color scheme (theme) and have more accurate 3D Touch controls.[6]

Development

Impossible Road was developed entirely by Kevin Ng, who had previous experience at two video game companies Rockstar Games and Electronic Arts. The developer drew his inspiration mainly from Stunt Car Racer, a racing game of his childhood that featured tracks similar to this game's "roller coaster"-like ones, and was also influenced by Super Hexagon, the Rainbow Road, courses of the Mario Kart series, Wipeout, and Super Monkey Ball. Ng appreciated the minimalist aspect found in some games and chose that for his because it "strips everything down and lets you get to the important stuff. It keeps you honest as a designer". Thinking minimally thus became his challenge, and during development, he decided in favor of the blue-and-white graphics with the ball taking up negative space and against adding power-ups. He also opposed and resisted monetizing the game via microtransactions. The "cheating" mechanic was implemented when he tested a working prototype of the game and found that jumping off and on the track was too enjoyable to penalize.[7][8][9][10] The game was released for the iPhone and iPad worldwide on May 9, 2013,[5] and it was made available for Android on April 8, 2014.[11]

Reception

Impossible Road received "generally favorable reviews", according to Metacritic.[12] TouchArcade gave the game 4.5 stars out of 5 stars praising the game's music and minimalism.[16]

Several reviewers also compared the game to Super Hexagon[4][14] and Rainbow Road from the Mario Kart series.[2] Impossible Road was a runner-up for the British Academy Scotland Award of 2013 in the games category.[18] It was also a runner-up for Apple's award for the iPad game of the year in 2013, which was won by Frogmind's Badland.[19] A sequel, Super Impossible Road, was released for Windows on May 11, 2016, as one of the launch titles for Apple Arcade on September 19, 2019, for Nintendo Switch on December 9, 2021, and for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on June 8, 2022.[20][21][22]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Larsen, Luke (May 31, 2013). "Impossible Road Review". IGN. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Impossible Road Review | Slide to Play". Slide to Play. May 15, 2013. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Rose, Mike (May 10, 2013). "IMPOSSIBLE ROAD Review". Gamezebo. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Brown, Mark (May 9, 2013). "Impossible Road Review". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Slater, Harry (May 8, 2013). "Fancy taking a trip down Impossible Road on iPhone and iPad from midnight tonight?". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  6. ^ "'Impossible Road' Gets 3D Touch and Themes in New Update". TouchArcade. January 21, 2016. Archived from the original on December 12, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  7. ^ Usher, Anthony (May 9, 2013). "Impossible Road developer Kevin Ng talks inspirations, cheating, future plans, and more". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  8. ^ Fabian (May 14, 2013). "Entwickler im Interview: Impossible Road" [Developer in interview: Impossible Road]. Appgefahren.de (in German). Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  9. ^ Saraintaris, Nico (March 12, 2014). "We Ask Indies: Kevin Ng, creator of Impossible Road going full indie". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  10. ^ Willington, Peter (July 7, 2015). "PS4's new exclusive, Super Impossible Road, is all about the cheating". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  11. ^ Priestman, Chris (April 2, 2014). "Silver Award-winning stylish score-chasing game Impossible Road will spiral onto Android on April 8th". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "IMPOSSIBLE ROAD for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  13. ^ "Impossible Road". Edge. No. 255. July 2013. p. 124. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  14. ^ a b Schilling, Chris (June 21, 2013). "Impossible Road review". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  15. ^ Carmichael, Stephanie (May 10, 2013). "Week in Mobile: Impossible Road, Perfection, and Chuck the Muck". GameZone. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Burnett, Karl (July 2, 2013). "'Impossible Road' Review – The Game that Lives Up to its Name". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  17. ^ Martin, Garrett (May 13, 2013). "Mobile Game of the Week: Impossible Road (iOS)". Paste. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  18. ^ "British Academy Scotland Awards: Winners in 2013". British Academy Scotland Awards. November 17, 2013. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  19. ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 7, 2013). "Apple names Ridiculous Fishing, Badland its 2013 games of the year". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  20. ^ Takahashi, Dean (September 16, 2019). "Apple Arcade hands-on — dozens of original cartoon games aimed at family players". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  21. ^ "Super Impossible Road launches December 9 for Switch, in early 2022 for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, and PC". Gematsu. November 11, 2021. Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  22. ^ "Super Impossible Road gets release date for current gen consoles". www.altchar.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
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