GapSnap

Most racing games expect you to follow the road. This one takes a rather different approach, because the road keeps disappearing and apparently that's your problem to solve. Grab your kart and race across colorful floating islands, snapping bridges into place as you approach dangerous gaps and throwing up ramps when a shortcut looks too tempting to ignore. GapSnap mixes arcade kart racing, quick reflexes and clever timing with a wonderfully blocky voxel world that feels a little like Minecraft decided to get into motorsports. The main trick is learning when to hold and when to tap. Hold your bridge-building control as you approach a break in the track to create a safe path across the gap, then tap the ramp control to launch yourself over obstacles, reach shortcuts and perform spectacular jumps. There are even rails to grind along, adding another way to keep your run interesting. Keep your eyes open for coins and special blocks scattered along the route, because collecting them is how you build up your racing fortune. Gold Blocks are particularly handy, providing free bridges while also rewarding you with coins. The Mega Ramp power-up is even more entertaining, sending your little kart flying through a huge flip jump toward a bonus island. It's the sort of shortcut that looks slightly irresponsible, which is usually a good sign in an arcade racer. There's plenty to work toward beyond simply surviving the next missing piece of road, too. Explore six different worlds, complete missions, purchase upgrades and unlock a garage full of ten cars. Improving your vehicle gives you more reasons to keep collecting coins and revisiting the tracks, while the changing gaps and obstacles mean you'll need to pay attention rather than simply steering on autopilot. If you enjoy the familiar racing thrills of Mario Kart, the colorful block-building aesthetic of Minecraft, or the speedy obstacle-dodging action of Sonic games, there's a fun little mash-up happening here. And here's a neat bit of trivia: the word voxel is a blend of 'volume' and 'pixel', referring to a three-dimensional equivalent of the tiny squares that make up digital images. So all those chunky little trees, islands and blocks have a proper name behind their charmingly square appearance. On a computer, steer using A and D or the left and right arrow keys. Hold Space or the left mouse button to build a bridge across a gap, and tap Space or press Up or W to create a ramp and jump. Press P or Escape whenever you need to pause. Playing on a phone or tablet? Swipe left or right to steer, hold anywhere on the screen to build a bridge, and tap or swipe upward to launch a ramp. The controls are simple enough to pick up, but mastering the timing of those bridges and jumps is where the fun really begins. After all, anyone can drive a kart on a perfectly good road. Building the road while driving is where things get interesting.