About Water Spider
Water Spider is a 3D racing adventure on the surface of a Nordic forest lake. You are a pond skater, the tiny long-legged insect that walks on water, and you have one year to get through: summer, autumn, winter and spring.
You are almost real size, so the lake is huge: lily pads are islands, frogs are giants and the spruces tower over you. You handle like a little race car. Hold forward for gas and your legs row faster as you speed up, ease into turns, and brake while you steer to drift round a corner, leaving a wake like skid marks. Other pond skaters share the water. They row about in little groups and snap up any larva you leave behind, and they scatter or go spinning off if you rush into them. Along the way you eat glowing larvae to stay fed, slip past frogs and fish, ride out an autumn storm, find shelter before the lake freezes and, in spring, follow pink ripples to a mate. Then the next generation hatches, and you play on as your own children.
How to play
- Hold forward for gas and steer left and right. Tap forward for an extra kick of speed, and brake to slow down.
- Brake while you steer at speed to drift, then let go of the brake to fire a turbo. The longer the drift, the bigger the turbo, and a long drift also scores bonus points. Eating larvae at full speed tops the turbo up.
- Steer into the glowing larvae to eat them before the other skaters get there. Each level asks for a certain number, and eating also refills your hunger bar.
- Watch out for frogs, which leap to where they expect you to be, and for the growing shadow of a fish below. Jump to avoid a tongue, a gulp or a raindrop.
- Each season has three levels. Autumn brings rain rings and drifting leaves, and winter brings ice that slows you down.
- At the end of winter, follow the arrow to a glowing shelter before time runs out. At the end of spring, follow the arrow and the pink ripples to your mate.
- You have five lives. Find your mate and a new generation begins on a slightly different, slightly harder lake, with your score carried over.
Controls
- Keyboard
- A and D (or Left and Right arrows) steer. Hold W or the Up arrow for gas, and tap it for an extra kick. S brakes, S while steering drifts, and Space jumps.
- Touch
- The left thumb steers with a floating joystick. Hold the right side of the screen for gas and tap it for a kick, and press the JUMP button to hop. Pull the joystick down and to the side to drift, and push it back up to fire the turbo.
Tips
- Speed is safety. Frogs aim at where you were heading, so a fast skater who turns is very hard to catch.
- You cannot be hit while you are in the air. Jump the moment a frog's landing ring or a rain ring appears under you.
- Drift to turn sharply, then let go of the brake for a turbo. Chaining drifts is the fastest way round the lake, and the quickest way to swing back onto a larva you just passed.
- Other skaters only go for larvae you are not chasing, so head straight for the ones you want.
- Reeds and drifting leaves hide you from frogs, but there is nothing to eat there. Use them to cross dangerous water.
- In winter, eat first. Skate around the ice instead of across it, and keep an eye on the arrow to the shelter.
