Do you remember the racing game Tux Racer? It was released over 20 years ago, and in it you slide as the Linux penguin Tux through beautiful, snow-covered mountain landscapes. You can also find the original on our website at this link, but here you can read about Extreme Tux Racer, a newer and more modern version based on Tux Racer!
Extreme Tux Racer is completely free and runs on both Windows and Linux computers. While testing the game and reading about it online, we also found a Google link to a version for Mac and iOS, but we have not tested it. The Apple version isn’t free either, so we assume it may be released by another developer, but if you want to check it out, you can find it on Apple’s App Store by clicking right here.
We ran a short test of Extreme Tux Racer on a Windows 11 PC, and this text is a mini review explaining how you can get started with the game, along with some of our own experiences. Good luck with Extreme Tux Racer!
Step 1: Download and install the game
If you want to try Extreme Tux Racer, the first step is of course to download and install it on your PC. To do this, just click our download button on this page. This button takes you to SourceForge, where you can find the installer that fits your machine, whether you use Windows or Linux.
As mentioned earlier, we tested Extreme Tux Racer on a PC, and the installation process can be seen in the GIF below. It looks very much like the classic Windows installer you’ll know from many other programs and games.
On our PC, Extreme Tux Racer defaulted to English, but in the game’s settings you can also switch to the following languages: Czech, German, Finnish, Spanish, French, Polish, and Swedish. On the settings page you can also choose different screen resolutions and whether you want to play in full-screen mode.
Step 2: Choose your player name and character
When you open Extreme Tux Racer for the first time, you’ll be presented with a page where you select your player profile and character.
In our case, a few player profiles were already created with the names “Bunny” and “Racer,” but you can easily create more if you want. After that, choose the character you want to control in the game. You can see the different characters in the GIF below.
You can choose between Tux, Trixi, Boris, Samuel, and Beastie. Our personal pick was Tux—we simply love the cheeky, charming Linux penguin. We’re not entirely sure whether character choice affects the gameplay, but our impression is that it doesn’t.
Step 3: Learn the controls
Once you’ve set up your profile and chosen a character to race with, it’s a good idea to review the different keys. To help our readers, we’ve added a screenshot from the Help page below, but you can also access it yourself by clicking “Help” in the main menu.
In short, you primarily use the arrow keys. Press the Up arrow to accelerate, and use the Left and Right arrows to turn. To brake, press the Down arrow. It sounds easy, but when you’re sliding through the snow and flying off steep mountains, Extreme Tux Racer is actually quite challenging, and it takes time to get really good at it.
There are also other keys you can use. For example, you can make your character do tricks with the T key, though we’re not entirely sure whether this actually affects the game or just makes your character look extra cool.
Step 4: Play the game!
If you’ve followed our first three steps, you’re ready to race through snowy mountains with your chosen character! We recommend starting by pressing the “Practice” button in the main menu, where you can choose from tons of tracks to practice on. There are no consequences here if your times aren’t perfect, but you’ll quickly want to improve and beat your personal records.
When you feel ready, go back to the main menu and click “Enter an Event.” Here you’ll find various tournaments to play through. In our test, these tournaments were surprisingly difficult, so expect to practice a lot. The goal is to set the best possible time, but fish also appear along the tracks—make sure to collect as many as you can.
Our verdict
We were thoroughly entertained by Extreme Tux Racer during our quick test of the Windows version. It’s a challenging game with many different tracks, and we quickly felt motivated to beat our best times.
That said, the game doesn’t feel modern. The graphics lag far behind newer titles, and a major downside is that Extreme Tux Racer has no multiplayer features. You can’t play against AI opponents or other players in Extreme Tux Racer. We hope that becomes possible in the future, as it would be a significant improvement.
Still, there’s something charming about the blocky graphics, and at times it genuinely feels like you’re sliding down a real mountain. If the game sounds interesting, we definitely think you should give Extreme Tux Racer a try. After all, it’s completely free! Have fun!
Tip: If you’re looking for other free games, take a look at our games category at this link! For example, we recommend the racing game SuperTuxKart, which also features Tux the Linux penguin and includes multiplayer so you can race against others! We’re constantly adding new games and software to our site, so we hope you visit us again soon!
Race through snowy mountains with the penguin Tux in Extreme Tux Racer! Download the game free for both Windows and Linux!
Download Extreme Tux Racer
