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BIT.TRIP PRESENTS... RUNNER2 (PS3)
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Publisher: Aksys Games.
Developer: Gaijin Games. Released: August 2013 (Europe). Genre: 2D Platformer. Other versions: PC; WIIU; X360; VITA. Posted 1st May 2021. By Tom Clare © 2021 |
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With Intellivision’s new Amico system slated to launch towards the end of 2021, gaming finally has another underdog story to get behind. Going up against the collective market dominance of Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft will be a massive challenge. Nevertheless, with the launches of the PS5 and Xbox Series X playing chiefly to pre-existing audiences, the door has been left ajar for the Amico to fill the void that’s been left, ever since the Wii, for a more accessible, social gaming experience. By prioritising couch co-op and eschewing microtransactions, DLC and £70 retail releases, the console aims to set right a few of gaming’s more recent ‘bad habits’. How much success the Amico finds from a back-to-basics, gameplay-lead approach will depend on the quality of its star attractions, chief amongst them the rebooted Break Out. That it’s developed by Choice Provisions (formerly Gaijin Games) bodes well. The developer’s involvement is a real coup, because in 2013’s Bit.Trip Presents… Runner2, they crafted exactly the kind of game the Amico will be needing come launch day: simple, addictive and accessible, but with plenty of depth and reply value too.
As Runner2 expresses in one of its many, enigmatic micro-outbursts, not all games have to be brown. For those jaded by the prominence of space marines and sepia-toned war zones, Runner2 delivers an entire rainbow’s worth of zaniness. Playing like something between an old-school 2D platformer and an endless runner, it sees Bit.Trip stalwart CommanderVideo and his cohorts sprinting through levels as the player must jump, slide, kick, glide and bounce through an assault course of obstacles. Runner2 is frequently irreverent, but it can be forgiven, because it’s an excellent game.
Runner2 takes a simple idea and extracts the absolute most from it, making for an accessible and fun experience that has staying power.
Indeed, Runner2 is a textbook example of how to take a simple idea and build it into a game that keeps the player happy and entertained for hours and hours. Completing levels is more than simply moving from A to B. Each stage contains a set number of gold bars, which will require timing and a little joypad dexterity to capture. Collect all of them and, in fittingly bizarre style, you must fire the protagonist into the bullseye-centre of a target, in order to ace the level. Manage this and there’s a shiny Perfect+ rank waiting as reward. Don’t get too cocky though: there are one hundred levels and three difficulty settings, so to beat the game fully, you’re going to need to finish at least 300 runs.
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The key to all of this working is that Gaijin got the nuts ‘n’ bolts basics right. Its controls are intuitive and responsive, the collision parameters fair. Levels are absolutely packed with action, punctuated with frequent deaths and restarts, but also offering the olive branch of a mid-level checkpoint to avoid unnecessary repetition. Completing the game on the middle skill setting proves a stern test, whilst beating it on the harder setting requires patience, a little route memorisation and plenty of reflex skills to best the later levels.
There’s an old-school addictive quality to it; a strong one-more-go factor. Like many platformers of the late eighties and early nineties, Runner2 requires a lot of practice, so don’t expect to run through each level at the first attempt. Some you’ll whizz through, whilst others may take half an hour and dozens of attempts. Smart incentives, particularly with regards to replaying levels, really helps. Not only can you return to improve scores, but there’s the carrot-and-stick of unlockables. These are generally unearthed by taking optional, harder branching paths or uncovering alternative exits, which in turn open secret levels. On top of all of this, there are a further 25 retro-themed levels played in an 8-bit visual style, craftily hidden amongst the main stages. Because each run is only a few minutes long and there are always so many different challenges to grab your attention, it’s unlikely you’ll find yourself getting too bogged down.
There’s an old-school addictive quality to it; a strong one-more-go factor. Like many platformers of the late eighties and early nineties, Runner2 requires a lot of practice, so don’t expect to run through each level at the first attempt. Some you’ll whizz through, whilst others may take half an hour and dozens of attempts. Smart incentives, particularly with regards to replaying levels, really helps. Not only can you return to improve scores, but there’s the carrot-and-stick of unlockables. These are generally unearthed by taking optional, harder branching paths or uncovering alternative exits, which in turn open secret levels. On top of all of this, there are a further 25 retro-themed levels played in an 8-bit visual style, craftily hidden amongst the main stages. Because each run is only a few minutes long and there are always so many different challenges to grab your attention, it’s unlikely you’ll find yourself getting too bogged down.
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"Friend" is perhaps a bit much.
Runner2 is ridiculously daft. For starters, you can play as a gherkin, or a chap with a cheeseburger for a head. Or the unforgettable (probably not in a good way) Reverse Merman, the legs of a man and the head of a fish. Whilst all of the characters perform more or less the same, there’s a whopping forty unlockable outfits, which add to the delightful oddness of it all. Five different worlds provide a multitude of vibrant settings, with highlights coming in the form of the Emerald Brine seaside and the futuristic Bit.Trip that rounds things off, with variants of Pong and Break Out playing out on giant screens in the distance. Introductions from Charles Martinet (best known for voicing a number of Nintendo characters) lend it further charm, whilst the absurd levels and enemies belie the fact that it’s a really good-looking game, with smooth scrolling, detailed backgrounds and few (if any) graphical quirks to grumble over.
Adding further to the game’s quality is a marvellously serene soundtrack that’s accompanied by pleasant, rhythmic sound effect responses that blip along with the collecting of gold bars. There’s so much to play through that Bit.Trip Runner2 represents excellent value for money, far more than could have been expecting of a budget release. Indeed, stylish presentation, super-smooth gameplay and a plethora of unlockables mean it goes far beyond the accepted remit of such a game. The sight of Reverse Merman’s dancing and tail-waggling poses will likely burn an image into your retinas that may not be easy to shake, but during an era when many indie titles featured grating attempts at parody and self-deprecating humour, Runner2 is good enough that, though identifiably a game of its time, is still a blast to play.
Adding further to the game’s quality is a marvellously serene soundtrack that’s accompanied by pleasant, rhythmic sound effect responses that blip along with the collecting of gold bars. There’s so much to play through that Bit.Trip Runner2 represents excellent value for money, far more than could have been expecting of a budget release. Indeed, stylish presentation, super-smooth gameplay and a plethora of unlockables mean it goes far beyond the accepted remit of such a game. The sight of Reverse Merman’s dancing and tail-waggling poses will likely burn an image into your retinas that may not be easy to shake, but during an era when many indie titles featured grating attempts at parody and self-deprecating humour, Runner2 is good enough that, though identifiably a game of its time, is still a blast to play.
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VERDICT
"...during a time when many indie titles featured grating attempts at parody and self-deprecating humour, Runner2 is good enough that, though identifiably a game of its time, is still a blast to play." OVERALL: 8/10 |