Shanghai Roadster for parents: what the racing game is like
Shanghai Roadster is a 3D arcade racing game in the browser for kids from about 8 to 12. The player drives a silver sports car on giant, toy-like red tracks above night-time cities, doing loops and jumps and racing against the clock for bronze, silver and gold medals. There is no fighting and no story, and there are no ads. The only other car is a see-through rival that the game drives. This page lists the facts a grown-up may want before their child plays.
What does the player do?
- Picks a track from a list. Eight tracks are raced in order, plus one always-open test track.
- Waits for three start lamps, then drives two laps before a countdown clock runs out.
- Steers, accelerates and brakes, and uses one extra button, "Nitrogen", for a speed boost, a soft landing after a jump, or extra grip in a loop.
- Wins a medal for finishing in time. Any medal opens the next track.
- Races a computer-driven rival car in each race. The two cars pass through each other and never collide; beating the rival is just for fun.
- Can choose Practice on any open track: no clock, no medals, just learning the track.
The full list of tracks is on all the tracks, and the medal rules are on medals, practice and unlocking tracks.
Content notes
- No violence and no characters. The game shows only the cars, the track and the city. There is no dialogue and no story.
- Falling and crashing. If the car drives off an edge or lands a big jump badly, it tumbles down toward the city, or breaks apart after a Crash landing!: the wheels fly off and small pieces bounce away. Nobody is shown hurt, and the car is whole again in the next race. The race simply ends and the player can start again at once.
- Very high speeds. The speedometer can show well over 300 km/h. This is clearly a fantasy toy track, not real-world driving.
- Bright lights and motion. Neon city lights, searchlight beams in the sky, rain or snow on two tracks, and speed streaks when the car is fast. Loops turn the view upside down.
- Frustration. Falling off ends the race, and a new race starts from the beginning. Races are short, and Practice mode lets a child learn a hard part calmly. How to stay on the track explains every way to fall and the fix.
How much reading is there?
Very little. The screen shows short tips such as Save nitrogen for the straight., speed boards such as Loop ahead: 60 km/h or more, and a few menu words. A younger child can play by watching the gauges and the coloured landing ring, with a grown-up reading the tips at first.
How long is a session?
One race lasts from under a minute (the first track has a 57-second clock) to about two and a half minutes (the longest clock is 2 minutes 21 seconds). After every race there is a result card, which makes a natural stopping point. The game can be paused at any time with Escape, P, Start or the II button.
Where is progress saved?
The game saves by itself in the browser on the device being used. It keeps the best time and best medal for each track. There are three separate save slots, so siblings can each have their own driver. If the browser blocks saving, for example in a private window, the game says so; the child can still play, but times are not kept.
Ads, purchases and credits
- There are no ads in the game.
- There is nothing to buy inside the game.
- The pause screen shows a small credit line for the 3D car model, which is used under a Creative Commons licence (CC BY 4.0).
Devices, controls and languages
- Plays in a web browser on computers, phones and tablets, with no download. It needs a recent browser that can show 3D graphics.
- Works with a keyboard, a game controller, or on-screen touch buttons. On a phone, holding it sideways gives the widest view. All controls are on the controls page.
- Sound is made by the game itself: motor, wind, jet hiss, landings and beeps. There is no music. M or the pause screen switches sound on and off.
- Languages: English and Swedish. The game follows the language set on the games portal, or the browser's language, and falls back to English.
Membership
You can try Shanghai Roadster in the browser; the first track is marked Free. The full game is part of the Contenta Games membership, which opens every game on the portal. See what a membership gives you. Player guides for all our games are on the guides page.
See also
- The FAQ for quick answers.
- The guide's front page for an overview.
- Glossary for the game's words.
- Shanghai Roadster on the portal.
