River Raid was published by Activision, released in 1982.

What kind of game is River Raid?

River Raid is a action, shooter game for the MS-DOS.

Can two people play River Raid?

Yes. River Raid supports multiplayer (Multiplayer). Player 1 uses the arrow keys, player 2 uses WASD, and two USB or Bluetooth gamepads can be connected instead.

How much data does River Raid load?

The River Raid ROM is 23 kB. It is fetched once when you press play and then cached by your browser, so returning to the game does not download it again.

River Raid Game (1982) - DOS

Name: River Raid
Availability: InStock
Author: Activision

Action / Button	Keyboard Key
D-Pad (Up / Down / Left / Right)	`Arrow Keys`
Button A	`Z` or `J`
Button B	`X` or `K`
Button X / Turbo A	`A` or `U`
Button Y / Turbo B	`S` or `I`
Select	`Shift`
Start	`Enter`

Gamepad Input	Retro Function	Keyboard Key
D-Pad / Analog	Character Movement / Steering	`▲` `▼` `◄` `►`
Button A (East)	Primary Action / Attack / Fire	`Z` / `K`
Button B (South)	Secondary / Jump / Cancel	`X` / `J`
Button X / Y	Special / Turbo / Extra Fire	`A` / `S`
Select	Insert Coin / Select Option	`Right Shift`
Start	Game Start / Pause Game	`Enter`

Gamepad Input

Retro Function

Keyboard Key

D-Pad / Analog

Character Movement / Steering

▲ ▼ ◄ ►

Button A (East)

Primary Action / Attack / Fire

Z / K

Button B (South)

Secondary / Jump / Cancel

X / J

Button X / Y

Special / Turbo / Extra Fire

A / S

Select

Insert Coin / Select Option

Right Shift

Start

Game Start / Pause Game

Enter

Emulator Core Engine	Technology	Multiplayer	Gamepad	Touch	Ads	Action / Switch
EmulatorJS (Default WebAssembly)	`WebAssembly / JS`	YES	YES	YES	NO	▶ ACTIVE
MS-DOS (Recommended)	`WebAssembly / Libretro`	YES	YES	YES	NO	PLAY ⚡
JS-DOS v3.0 / DOSBox Engine	`Emscripten C++`	YES	YES	NO	NO	PLAY ⚡

Emulator Core Engine

Technology

Multiplayer

Gamepad

Touch

Ads

Action / Switch

EmulatorJS (Default WebAssembly)

WebAssembly / JS

YES

▶ ACTIVE

MS-DOS (Recommended)

WebAssembly / Libretro

YES

PLAY ⚡

JS-DOS v3.0 / DOSBox Engine

Emscripten C++

YES

PLAY ⚡

River Raid is a classic vertical scrolling shooter released by Activision in 1982 and ported to DOS. You pilot a jet fighter up a continuously scrolling river, destroying enemy fleets and bridges while carefully managing a constantly depleting fuel supply.

How to Play

Your objective is to survive and rack up points by destroying enemy helicopters, ships, jets, and bridges. Avoid colliding with enemies, bridges, or the riverbanks. To stay in the air, you must replenish your tank by flying over fuel depots without shooting them. Use the arrow keys to maneuver; pushing up accelerates your jet, and pulling back slows it down to help you navigate tight spots. Press the Spacebar to fire. For fullscreen mode, press Right Alt + Enter.

Tips

Manage Your Speed: Slowing down gives you time to react to enemies and narrow river passages, but it drains your fuel faster relative to the distance traveled.
Strategic Refueling: You can shoot fuel depots for extra points if your tank is full, but be careful not to accidentally destroy them when you are running on empty.