Contrail Cup

About this game

Contrail Cup is an arcade air race. Three laps of a course marked out by gates in the sky, five computer pilots or up to seven real ones, and a boost meter to spend at the right moment. There are six stages, each with its own idea of what can go wrong. Cloudreach is a gentle circuit through floating islands and updrafts. Red Mesa Run drops into a canyon, with a slot-canyon shortcut for anyone brave enough. Tempest Bay skims a stormy sea between sea stacks and lightning, Magma Rift follows a lava river past fire geysers, Frostfang Pass threads a glacier crevasse under the northern lights, and Skyline Loop, the hardest, runs through tower canyons, a tunnel and laser gates on a timer. Nine planes fly differently rather than just faster: a balanced prop racer, a biplane that turns on a coin, a needle-nosed jet that hates corners, a heavy twin that shrugs off scrapes, a glider that keeps its speed in a dive, and more. Credits from racing buy them, and the paint shop changes everything from the decal to the trail your wingtips leave. The studio's own prototype has to be earned. Race the computer on Rookie, Pro, Ace or Legend, chase bronze to platinum medals in Time Trial against your own ghost, and post your Cup Score to the SyphonGames board. Multiplayer finds a public race or opens a private room with a four-character code, for two to eight pilots.

How to play

W and S (or Up and Down) push the nose down and pull it up, A and D roll, Q and E work the rudder, R and F set the throttle, Space boosts and Left Shift is the air brake. B looks back, V changes the camera, X puts you back at the last checkpoint and 1 to 4 are emotes. Or click the game to fly with the mouse: move it to roll and pitch, left button to boost, right to brake, wheel for throttle. A gamepad works, and phones get a touch stick. Fly every gate in order: miss one and you have to turn back.

Read the Contrail Cup guide