Word.ws English Dictionary

rail-based

rail-based adjective: of a game wherein a player character automatically moves along a preset path.

Adjective

rail-based (comparative more rail-based, superlative most rail-based)

  1. Of a game wherein a player character automatically moves along a preset path.
    • The design of the boss characters is interesting, and the multiplayer mode is a nice touch, but the graphics are far too drab for a rail-based shooter.2002, Andy Slaven, Video-game Bible, 1985-2002, →ISBN
    • The game is apparently sort of a rail-based shooter, and you use your finger to aim and tap the screen to shoot.2009 February 20, David Carnoy, “CNET News Crave New details on 'Metal Gear Solid 4' for iPhone”, in c|net, retrieved 31 Jan 2013

Examples of rail-based in a sentence

  • The brainchild of Reisuke Ishida, the creator of Taito's cult hit Space Invaders: Infinity Gene, Groove Coaster is a rail-based rhythm game set to dozens of tracks from Taito video games.2011 September 16, Scott Stein, “30 best iPad games”, in CBS News:
  • The Far Cry series is known for offering up an open-world alternative to the rail-based experiences of most mainline FPS titles,[…]2012 June 15, “EGM DoubleTake: Far Cry 3”, in Electronic Gaming Monthly, archived from the original on 11 Feb 2013:
  • It is a rail-based game, so the only movements you really have to control is jumping in the short action sequences that break up the "shooting zones," if you will.2012 July 16, Matt, “Major Mayhem: Save hostages, create combos, and even blast some chickens!”, in iPad Game Ratings, archived from the...

Forms of rail-based

comparativemore rail-based
superlativemost rail-based

Origin of rail-based

From rail + based, likening the experience to moving along a rail.

Questions about rail-based

What does rail-based mean?
Rail-based means of a game wherein a player character automatically moves along a preset path.
How do you use rail-based in a sentence?
The brainchild of Reisuke Ishida, the creator of Taito's cult hit Space Invaders: Infinity Gene, Groove Coaster is a rail-based rhythm game set to dozens of tracks from Taito video games.
What part of speech is rail-based?
Rail-based is an adjective.

Words near rail-based in the dictionary

  1. rail wagons
  2. rail yard
  3. rail yards
  4. rail-babbler
  5. rail-babblers
  6. rail-based
  7. rail-carriage
  8. rail-carriages
  9. rail-motor
  10. rail-motors
  11. rail-served

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rail-based (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-rail-based.wav.

Cite this entry: “rail-based.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rail-based. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.