Mulitplayer racing with a Flappy Bird feel

Doodle Jump Race is a multiplayer online racing game featuring the snout-faced star of the popular Doodle Jump games.

Doodle Jump meets Flappy Bird

Doodle Jump Race is a very simple mini game in which Doodle the Doodler stops jumping and starts racing. You go up against three other random players online in each race. You must be logged into Game Center in order to play.

Games in Doodle Jump Race have a distinct whiff of Flappy Bird about them. It’s a side-scrolling race to the finish in which you must fly through gaps at breakneck speed. If you collide with a gap you don’t die, but it significantly slows down your progress while you wait for Doodle to sort himself out again. 

Tap ’til you drop

The controls in Doodle Jump Race couldn’t be simpler. Once your online opponents have been matched to you (which can take some time), you need to wait for the ‘Go’ then tap the screen like crazy. Tapping elevates Doodle and releasing makes him drop. You’ll need to get the rhythm just right in order to avoid crashing.

You race at the same time as your online opponents and can see them in the race window when you overtake them (or vice versa). A mini track graphic at the top of the screen shows you where everyone is at a glance.

Looks good on paper

Doodle Jump Race uses the same hand-drawn graphic style that was the trademark of the original Doodle Jump game. Animation is a bit crude, but it works given the style of the game.

One of the main drawbacks of the game is that there’s only one track. Although the position of the obstacles changes, the background doesn’t.

Back to the drawing board

Ultimately, Doodle Jump Race is very repetitive and, unless you’re a top player, it can get boring quite quickly. Although the idea of racing other players is great, more race modes and different scenarios are needed to give the game lasting appeal.