Arcade Whale
Arcade Whale OriginalMade in-house, free to play
Stunt Rider
- Developer
- Arcade Whale
- Genre
- Racing
- Released
- Updated
- Platforms
- Browser (desktop, mobile, tablet)
- Orientation
- Landscape (turn your phone sideways)
- Players
- Single player
How to play
Desktop D or → gas · A or ← brake · in the air gas tilts back, brake tilts forward · R restart
Touch The two pedals
About Stunt Rider
Stunt Rider is a browser hill-climb game built on one idea: the two controls that drive you on the ground are the same two that tilt you in the air. On the ground the right control is gas and the left is brake. The moment your wheels leave a crest those same controls rotate the bike: gas tilts it back, brake tilts it forward, and you use them to line the wheels up before you touch down. There is no separate lean button and nothing extra to learn, which is why it plays the same with a keyboard and with two thumbs on a phone.
The hills do as much of the driving as the engine does. Every map is one continuous run over rolling ground with kickers that throw you into the air, bumpy stretches, dips, short walls and plank bridges over water, and gravity pulls along the slope, so a descent taken flat out carries you up the climb that follows. Each map also has distance goals: reach the next one and you are paid a level bonus, which turns every run into a short list of targets rather than an open road.
Landing is where a run is decided. The angle between your bike and the slope you land on grades the result: come down almost parallel with the ground and you keep your speed and gain a little, come down at a moderate angle and you scrub some off, come down badly and you lose nearly a third of your momentum and the air bonus. What ends a run is the rider, not the angle: if the helmet touches the ground, or the bike tips over backwards on a climb, you crash. Holding the gas in the air is the classic way to loop straight onto your head.
Fuel is the clock. The throttle burns fuel by the metre and the engine burns it by the second, so both flooring it and crawling cost you. Red cans sit on the track and refill you, but they get further apart the further you go, and when the tank runs dry you coast until the bike stops. Coins sit in rows along the road and are worth more the further out you get, from 5 near the start to 500 deep into a map. They buy engine, grip, tank and suspension in the garage, or unlock one of five maps with their own rules: a dark yard lit by your headlight, loose sand that eats speed, ice where the brakes answer late, and a hot works where the engine drinks more.
Air time and flips both pay. The bonus for staying airborne counts up on screen while you are still flying, and a full rotation landed on your wheels pays 300 coins and makes the bike come down faster, roughly thirteen percent per flip. That means showing off and going far point the same direction: on a long jump the fast line is often to commit to a rotation rather than hold the bike flat. Your best distance on each map is saved on your device. If you like precise physics games, try Redline Run or Apex Drift next.
Right arrow or D for gas, Left arrow or A to brake (on a phone, the two pedals at the bottom). While you are airborne gas tilts the bike back and brake tilts it forward: use them to line the wheels up before you touch down.
A run ends when the rider hits the ground or when the bike rolls to a stop on an empty tank, and the cans get further apart the further you go, so every run ends somewhere. The question is where. Coins buy engine, grip, tank and suspension in the garage, or a new map. Press R to restart instantly.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to download or install anything?
No. The game runs directly in your web browser and works in Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge, on desktop and on phones. Nothing to download and no plugin to install.
How do you control the bike?
Right arrow or D is gas and left arrow or A is brake. On a phone there are two pedals at the bottom of the screen. While you are in the air gas tilts the bike back and brake tilts it forward, which is how you line up your landing. Press R to restart instantly.
Why do I keep crashing?
A run ends when the rider's helmet touches the ground or the bike tips over backwards. The usual cause is holding the gas in the air: the bike keeps rotating back until it lands on the rider. Tap the controls in the air instead of holding them, and on a steep climb ease off the gas so the front wheel stays down.
How does the fuel work?
You start with a full tank and burn it as you ride: the throttle costs fuel by the metre and the engine costs it by the second. Red cans on the track top you back up, but they are spaced further apart the further you go. When the tank is empty you coast until the bike stops, and that is where the run ends. A bigger tank from the garage pushes that point back, and so does riding efficiently.
What do flips and air time actually do?
Air time pays coins that count up while you are still flying, as long as you land it. A complete rotation landed on your wheels pays 300 coins and makes the bike accelerate out of the landing, roughly thirteen percent faster per flip, so flipping is usually the fast line on a long jump.
What are the levels on each map?
Every map has distance goals. Pass one and you get a level bonus in coins; your best distance remembers which goals you already reached, so each bonus is paid once and the next run aims at the following goal.
What do the upgrades change?
Engine raises top speed and torque, grip reduces wheelspin on climbs, the tank extends how far a run can last, and suspension keeps more of your speed through a rough landing. All four are measurable on distance; the tank and the engine are the two that push a record the furthest.
Does my progress save?
Yes. Your coins, your upgrades, the maps you have unlocked and your best distance on each map are all stored on your device, so closing the tab does not reset you.
Is Stunt Rider like Hill Climb Racing?
Yes. You ride over endless hills until the fuel runs out, crash if your rider's head hits the ground, and spend the coins you collect on engine, grip, tank and suspension upgrades or new maps. It is our own game, not the official Hill Climb Racing. Here you ride a dirt bike over kickers and plank bridges, the same two pedals tilt you in the air, the angle you land at decides how much speed you keep, and full flips pay 300 coins and a burst of speed. It runs free in the browser with nothing to download.
