Information about the arcade game Roach Race, which was added in Cyberpunk 2077’s Edgerunners Update (Patch 1.6), including where to find Roach Race arcade cabinets, how to play Roach Race, and the rewards you’ll get for achieving high scores.
(1 of 2) Avoid hazards, like griffons, crows, pits and barriers.
Avoid hazards, like griffons, crows, pits and barriers. (left), Most of the time stay8ing on the ground is your safest bet, but if you get caught in a touch spot, you can glitch back to the ground and gain temporary invulnerability. (right)
How to Play Roach Race in Cyberpunk 2077¶
Roach Race is a 2D side-scrolling platforming that can be found in various arcade cabinets throughout Night City, including arcade parlors in Northside and Japantown. Arguably the best way to play, however, is via the apartment you can rent in The Glen - Heywood. It can be found near the Glen Apartment fast travel, but to gain access to this apartment - which is furnished with a Roach Race arcade cabinet - you’ll need to fork over €$40,000. Cost or convenience - your choice.
Once you’ve found an arcade, you’ll find that Roach Race isn’t a complicated game; Roach will run across the bottom of the screen, and you need to guide this notoriously glitchy, difficult animal past various obstacles, including pits, fences (and other barriers of various heights) griffons and… crows?
The rules are simple, if you come into contact with any of these hazards, you die. You die, and it’s game over. You start out on stage 1-1 and if you make it to the end you’ll progress to 1-2, then 1-3 and so on, and when you’ve cleared all the game’s stages you’ll start over at 2-1. The further you progress, the more dangerous the hazards will become - cros will appear in 1-2, griffons will fly lower in 1-3 and move diagonally in 1-4, while Roach will move faster every time the world resets (2-1, 3-1, etc.). You have only two means of avoiding these hazards: jumping and glitching. You can jump by pressing the 
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, double jump by pressing it a second time in midair, and if you press it a third time you’ll “glitch”, appearing back on the ground and gaining a moment of invulnerability. Glitching has a cooldown, so you can’t just spam it. It’s best used for when you’re most vulnerable - when you’re jumping over some obstacle on the ground and have the poor luck for a flying hazard to spawn.
(1 of 2) Apples will give you +20 points,
Apples will give you +20 points, (left), which carrots will increase the rate at which Roach accumulates points from running. (right)
As Roach runs across the stage your score will increase - the longer you stay alive and hence the further you progress, the higher your score. Not everything in the game is a hazard, either; in addition to fences, pits, griffons and crows you have apples and carrots - treats Roach is especially fond of. Snacking on an apple will net you +20 points, and eating a carrot will cause Roach to adopt a goofy bipedal gait. Besides being a reference to a glitch in The Witcher 3, while high on carrots Roach will accumulate points much more quickly, and stringing together several carrot pickups can massively increase the points you earn.
Keeping Roach alive and scoring a lot of points is simple enough on paper, but it can take some practice to top Z1R343L’s top score of 3354. Most of the time griffons and crows won’t be able to hit you on the ground, regardless of how the graphics look - only the crow’s lowest descent can kill Roach, so if you stay on the ground as much as possible you should be pretty safe. You’ll still have to vault over pits and barriers, and the odd carrot may be too tempting a treat to resist, but the less you’re in the air, the safer you are. When you get in a pinch, don’t be afraid to abuse your glitch ability. Overall it’s a simple enough game, but the harsh death penalty and lack of lives or continues can cause it to be something of a pain.
Rewards for Achieving the Top Score in Roach Race¶
For putting up with Geralt’s wonky horse, enough to score more than 3354 points you’ll earn a variety of rewards:
- Roach Whisperer outfit
- Threat Analysis cyberware mod
- Weapon Glitch Quickhack
Most of this gear you can find elsewhere, save for the unique outfit. Whether it’s worth exposing yourself to Roach’s shenanigans is another matter.
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