Aqua Thrills — Play Free Online

Aqua Thrills is a 3D water-slide racing game built in Unity by the studio Rabbit Mountain. You sit in an inflatable ring at the top of a long, twisting tube slide out over the sea, a handful of other riders set off with you, and the race is to the bottom. The menu scene sets the mood straight away: a sunny deck lined with palm trees, stacks of life rings, a pink flamingo float and a beach ball, with the slide stretching off toward small sandy islands.

How to race

Press Play and you are dropped straight onto the slide with the other riders. A large number in the top-left corner shows your current place, and it changes as you pass riders or get passed. A prompt labelled Steer shows the left and right arrow keys, which move your ring across the width of the slide so you can pick a line through the bends and get around the riders in front. The build also includes a slide-to-steer hint for touch screens, so on a phone or tablet you drag sideways instead of using keys.

Along the way the scenery changes: during one run a dolphin leapt out of the water beside the slide, and the course winds past rocky islets dotted with palms.

The four menu buttons

Under the Play button sit a coin counter, a settings cog and four blue buttons.

• Me & My Stats – set your player name and see your record: races, wins, smashed, wipe-outs and special races won.
• Character – choose the rider who sits in the ring, from several men and women in swimwear.
• Ride – pick what you slide on. The default is a red ring, with other coloured rings and a black tyre on offer. Each ride shows its own speed and boost bars, and the tyre costs 500 coins.
• Aqua Parks – a progress map of locations. The first park is Tropics Aqua Park and the next one shown is Pirate Bay, which has a pirate ship beside its slide. The screen tells you to win to make progress.

Tips

• Winning is what moves you along the Aqua Parks map, so placing first matters more than simply finishing.
• Save your coins for a ride with better speed and boost bars. Comparing those bars before you buy shows exactly what you are paying for.
• Keep an eye on the place counter rather than the scenery. It tells you at a glance whether your line through the last bend gained or lost ground.
• Pick your line before a bend rather than in it. The slide is narrow and the other riders take up room.