I can't really blame the reviewers for being disappointed, but mind you, this DLC is what it was supposed to be. Devs advertised it as a relaxing and easy ride meant to let you chill. This DLC is not about high scores or crazy speed and obstacles, no. It's more akin to popping bubble wrap if you know what I mean. Might seem pointless in the long run, but it's still enjoyable. And if it's enjoyable, it's actually not at all pointless. I, for one, am happy with my purchase of Sunrise. The music is calming and I haven't found it annoying after a while like some other reviewer and the scenery is pretty enough. It is possible to produce lines on the water by cutting it with your ship's wings (happens when you are turning left or right), which is a nice little touch. I see Sunrise not only as a means of relaxation, though, I see it as an easy mode of Race the Sun, the opposite of Apocalypse. I'm giving it a 4/5 rating because I believe it could use some more elements for world generation. Other than that, I think it's a fair deal for its low price... provided you fully realize this product is a digital bubble wrap.
Endless runner with high scores and stuff? This is an old concept. There are many games that fall into this category. So what makes Race the Sun unique? First of all, it's endless not only forward, but also to the right and left, which means you can come up with your own route based on where you feel you can collect more points and bonuses. A unique feature I love even more, however, is the mechanism of world refreshing. Basically, every player will have the same world pattern. However, after 24 hours the world is recreated and you need to come up with new routes and strategies if you want to beat your previous record or do as good. That's why daily leaderboards present in this game make so much sense - everyone competes on equal footing, in the same world, yet it won't grow to be boring due to the fact it's only there for 24 hours! The coolest thing, as far as DRM-free goes? These new worlds are not downloaded from the dev servers or anything. You can be totally offline and you will still have a new world generated after 24h - and it will be exactly the same everyone else will have (unless you change your calendar's date, I guess). Last, but not least, there are user-made worlds browsable and playable from the game itself, as well as a world editor. A small notice, seeing how some reviewers failed to understand - this game does NOT require online connection (and as such, external account registration) for anything other than online leaderboards and user-made content browser. Also, it's important to note that you are given a Steam key for the base game after buying it here - it's important because Steam and DRM-free leaderboards are SEPARATE. If you want to compete with Steam users (Steam leaderboards are more populated), you need to play the Steam version. What's more, whereas a DRM-free version has a built-in custom world browser, the Steam version utilizes workshop for custom levels and, once again, these two are separate. I would like to write more, but can't
This is one of these games that allow you to kick back and relax. There's something truly magical about flying your vessel to a remote forest world, beaming down on its surface and finding new creatures, ancient temples and big towns full of villagers and merchants. The soundtrack is truly marvelous and completes the joy of experiencing the infinity of this universe.
