Heads run was a fantastic surprise. I bought the game because I like platformers and it was dirt cheap so I figured I would give it a shot and I am glad I did. I was initially off put by the game boy ish color palette, but as you play the game it really grows on you, and while you may die a few wtf deaths in the beginning, you quickly learn what you should be looking for as you race through these levels.
Comparisons to super meat boy are inevitable in a game like this as it has much in common with that game. It is fast paced, has tight controls, instant respwans on death, and fairly short levels where you will likely die several times as you learn the best way to make it past the various obstacles. However there are a few twists that separate this game from meat boy.
First, you have a dash. Your character moves at super fast speeds and when you first start to play it will take a minute to get used to, but even on top of the very fast run speed, your dash is necessary to further accelerate your character for a variety of level specific reasons. As is typical in games like this, you can also dash mid air which will be necessary to navigate tricky jumps between saws and other obstacles, as well as to break through blocks placed around the stages.
Second, the wall mechanic in this game is a bit odd. You can wall jump here, and you can use your wall jump to scale single walls by continuously wall jumping up it, or bounce back and forth between walls. Most games like this have your character slide down the wall slowly when you are not jumping off of it, this game has your character stick in place. When you cling to a wall a meter appears above your characters head, if you are holding the controller towards the wall the meter remains full, once you release the directional pad, the meter drains and when it is empty you fall off the wall. What this means in execution is the walls can be an obstacle, if you are trying to quickly descend down a wall and stick to it, you cannot instantly let go, which can lead to death. The plus side is you can hang on a wall as long as you like to wait for the opportune time to progress. It is a unique mechanic, and while it takes some getting used to, adds another layer to the gameplay.
Third, and probably most important, is that the vast majority of the games 50 levels have these huge, weird looking, creatures chasing you through the levels. They are all pretty freaky looking and chase you relentessly through the levels, they add a real sense of urgency and tension as you navigate the levels and force you to keep a fast pace as you navigate these trickly levels filled with saws, lasers, guns, and all manner of other instant death kills.
The difficulty curve in this game is nice. It starts off really easy as it introduces you to the various play mechanics and there is a nice smooth curve throughout the game. Although you will die a lot, you will never feel unprepared for the challenges the game throws at you. There are a handful of randomnly placed easy levels, that you will likely complete on your first or second try, but they are pretty infrequent and don't detract from the rest of the game. If anything they give your brain and heart a minute to recover from the tension you experience on most of the levels.
This game has everything you would want in a meat boy ish platformer, It is a little on the short side(it took me about an hour 20 minutes to complete the game) but it is also only 4 dollars which is more than fair for a game this much fun. You also unlock various modes upon completion of the game where you can race against your best times, the world record best times, and a hard mode that adds even more crazy stuff to each level. Fans of hardcore platformers can't go wrong with this game.
