Glidecore

STEER. SURVIVE. SHINE. Glidecore puts a glowing ball on a neon slope that drops away into the night. Drag left or right anywhere on the screen to steer while the ball rolls forward on its own, picking up speed the longer you last. Leap gaps from amber ramps, ride green boost pads, slip between blocks, sliding movers and pillars, and scoop up gems along the way. There are three ways to roll. Endless Glide is a straight test of distance: how many metres can you cover before the slope wins? Twelve Stages, from First Glide to Glide Crown, each have a finish line and three stars to earn, 36 in total. The Daily Slope is one track that is the same for everyone today, and every gem on it counts double. Gems are the only currency, and you earn them by riding. Spend them in the Garage on seven ball skins, from the original Amber Core to the mirror-finished Chrome Drift, or on boosts: a Shield that absorbs one crash, a Magnet that pulls nearby gems in, and Double Gems for ten seconds of doubled takings. Clear stages and two more worlds open up, Citrus Sunrise and Glacier Glow, each retinting the sky, the tiles and the lane lights. A VETERAN'S NOTES FOR NEW RIDERS • Look further ahead than feels natural. Every row of obstacles leaves a corridor, and it is far easier to drift into it early than to swerve at the last moment. • Movers slide, but they never close the corridor completely. Watch where the gap will be, not where it is now. • Stay on a ramp right up to its edge. Rolling off the side of a ramp means dropping into the void, so line up before you reach it. • Treat boost pads with respect. The burst of speed is lovely for gem lines and much less lovely right before a block. • Grazing an obstacle counts as a close call, and there is a trophy waiting for 25 of them. Chase it on a calm run, not on your stage attempts. • Save the Shield for the later stages. Boosts share a ten second cooldown, so firing two at once rarely helps. • Turn on the Magnet when a stage is full of scattered gems. Three stars depend on how many gems you collect, so a Magnet can be the difference between two stars and three. • Use Double Gems on the Daily Slope. Gems already count twice there, so it is the quickest way to fill the Garage. • If steering feels twitchy or sluggish, adjust the steering sensitivity in Setup until the ball goes where your thumb means it to. • Stuck on a stage? Run Endless for a while. The obstacles are the same family, and the practice carries straight over. Around the slope sits a speedometer-style menu with Ride, Garage, Trophies, Stats and Setup. Twelve trophies run from Half K, for a 500 metre roll, to Perfectionist, for all 36 stars. The Stats page keeps count of your runs, longest roll, total distance, close calls, gems and stars, and Setup lets you switch haptics and the animated background on or off. Glidecore plays completely offline, with no account to create, no adverts and no in-app purchases. Every gem comes from riding. The layout adapts to both phones and tablets, so the slope looks right on whatever screen you have to hand. Settle in, find your line, and let the slope carry you as far as it will.