Tidal Rider 2 – Swim away from human-hungry sharks [Game of the Week]

Last week we took a look at the original Tidal Rider, a simple, pick-up-and-play endless runner, and this week we’re featuring Tidal Rider 2, the game’s vastly superior sequel.

Taking a page out of Tiny Wings playbook of simple, yet deep game mechanics — though also adding in waves that are constantly changing randomly generated — Tidal Rider 2 has players bounding over choppy water and avoiding boats, sharks and buoys.

Unlike the original Tidal Rider, Tidal Rider 2 feels more dynamic and has a flow to it. In a fun twist, if you fall off your surfboard, which is actually easy to do and can happen if you overshoot a jump to the next wave even by a small amount, you have the opportunity to swim back to your board if you’re able to move fast enough to avoid the game’s human hungry sharks.

Again, similar to the original Tidal Rider, there’s not much to this title beyond trying to beat your previous high score, though it does feature additional characters that can be unlocked with collectible coins. One frustrating aspect, however, are its in-app ads, which are displayed the entire time while you’re playing the game in an area of the screen that’s sometimes easy to accidentally press depending on what device you’re using. You can remove ads for $2.99 CAD, which is something I eventually opted to do.

The most exciting thing about the game, however, is to try to nail a single or double backflip. Rather than rack up a high-score, almost amusingly, I find myself always attempting to flip my surfboard 360-degrees.

PlayMotive’s Tidal Rider 2 is available for free in the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store.