Up to three players (four in the NES version via the NES Satellite or NES Four Score accessory) race against each other or computer opponents on top-down indoor off-road truck tracks that increase in difficulty. Eight tracks appear in the base game (twelve in the Master System version, sixteen in the SNES version), with 99 total races on most versions. Finishing first earns points to advance in the championship and money used to purchase truck upgrades or additional nitro boosts. Continues reset the player's money to zero in home versions, whereas the arcade version allows money to be replenished. The vehicle-upgrade system, conceived by designer John Morgan, became an influential template for subsequent racing games.
The original CPU-controlled drivers were named after members of the development team: "Madman" Sam Powell (music composer), "Hurricane" Earl Stratton (assistant programmer), and "Jammin'" John Morgan (designer and lead programmer). The Track Pak expansion added two more driver names from the team: "Steamin'" Steve High (graphics) and "Hot Rod" John Rowe (company ownership). Using team names avoided the need for additional licensing.
Leland Corporation developed and published the game before being acquired by WMS Industries in 1994. The NES version includes Ivan Stewart branding and the Toyota logo on cartridge art; the SNES version features Toyota prominently in track branding and pre-race music inspired by a Toyota marketing jingle of the period, but replaces Stewart with the late Mickey Thompson in the grey truck, reportedly without the approval of the Thompson family. Some home console ports dropped the Ivan Stewart licence entirely, appearing under the plain Super Off Road title.
A Track Pak add-on board for arcade cabinets, also released in 1989, added eight new tracks — Shortcut, Cutoff Pass, Pig Bog, Rio Trio, Leapin' Lizards, Redoubt About, Boulder Hill, and Volcano Valley — and introduced a choice between the standard truck and a dune buggy.
Replay Magazine awarded the arcade version the top position in Dedicated Video in its 1989 Best Videos and Pins Special Report. Sinclair User rated it 8 out of 10 and described it as "Super Sprint with dirt." The Spectrum version ranked 47th in the Your Sinclair Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time; Amiga Power ranked it the 35th-best game of all time. Electronic Gaming Monthly criticised the Atari Lynx port for choppy animation despite praising the underlying arcade game.
The arcade version and Track Pak are included in Midway Arcade Treasures 3 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and in Midway Arcade Origins (2012) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, both under the plain Super Off Road title with the Stewart licence removed. A home sequel, Super Off Road: The Baja, developed by John Morgan for SNES in 1993, moved the camera to a third-person perspective and based racing around the Baja 1000. An arcade sequel, Off Road Challenge, followed in 1997 with a third-person 3D view and a Nintendo 64 port in 1998; Offroad Thunder released in arcades in 1999 as the third sequel.