The game is about white water rafting, and players must race against the clock, passing through checkpoints to extend the time they have to complete the level.

[7][8] The cabinet includes a pneumatic system that jolts the raft seat whenever the player(s) collide into rocks and/or crash into big swells and a 50-inch screen.

The raft seat accommodates up to two players who can act as a team to combine their strength and paddle away from hungry dinosaurs, deadly whirlpools and so on.

There total 6 different themed areas of gameplay, including Dinosaur Land (with a T-Rex chasing the player's boat), Evening Along the Nile, and The Big Canyon.

[2][10] Rapid River was well received upon release as one of Namco's major titles at the 35th Japan Amusement Expo in Tokyo.