
The game's races take place in a number of Californian locales, including San Francisco, the Sierra Nevada, Napa Valley and the Pacific Coast Highway. Road Rash puts the player in control of a motorcycle racer who must finish in either third or fourth-place (depending on the version) or higher in a series of five road races to advance throughout the game's five levels. The game was followed by a series of sequels made for various consoles.

Reception of other versions ranged from positive to middling, with the later versions being considered dated by the time of their release. The original version for the Sega Genesis was particularly acclaimed for its violent and aggressive gameplay and the convincing sense of speed in its graphics, while the 3DO version was commended for its advanced visuals and grunge-based soundtrack. Road Rash was released to critical and commercial success, and became EA's most profitable title at that time.

The effort to license the music of Soundgarden for the title led to the inclusion of other alt-rock bands such as Monster Magnet and Swervedriver. The 32-bit versions of the game feature 25 minutes of live-action full-motion video footage and a soundtrack primarily consisting of licensed grunge music courtesy of A&M Records. The game includes combat elements that were inspired by the violent behavior of Grand Prix motorcyclists during races, and the resulting uncertainty surrounding the game's genre created conflict between EA's development team and management. After initial development of Mario Andretti Racing for the NES proved impractical, focus shifted to a motorcycle racing game for the more powerful Sega Genesis. Road Rash was conceived by EA as its first title following the company's decision to begin developing games internally. It is the debut installment in the Road Rash game series. The game is based on a series of road races throughout California that the player must win to advance to higher-difficulty races, while using a combination of fisticuffs and blunt weaponry to hinder the other racers.

It was subsequently ported to a variety of contemporary systems by differing companies. Road Rash is a 1991 racing/vehicular combat video game originally developed and published by Electronic Arts (EA) for the Sega Genesis.
