RUN: The world in-between

[h1]A Small but really unique platformer[/h1] [h2]Gameplay[/h2] RUN: the world in-between (wich i'm just gonna call RUN from now on) is a pretty standard platformer, the movement feels really good, jumping and dashing around the different levels is really fun in and of itself. The thing that makes run stand out though is it's level structure. Basically the levels are "procedurally generated", that means that every time you die you'll have to go through a different level wich is basically just pieces of levels thrown together. This makes the game pretty hard, every time you complete a level you unlock new level pieces that are harder and harder, but you can't just learn the level to finish it because it changes every time. And while I personally really liked that about the game, I think a lot of people wouldn't like that very much. The game's main mechanic is basically the Super Mario 3D Land cosmic clone / Celeste chapter 2 badeline ghost, basically you're always followed by something that mimics your movement and tries to kill you forceing you to go fast (you can disable it in the option if that makes the game too stressfull though wich is always nice to have). [h2]Presentation and Aesthetics[/h2] I really like RUN's pixel art, the animation of the character are very fluid and the backgrounds are really beautiful. The music is also really good. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] RUN is a really challenging but fun platformer. The game forces you to get better at the game overall and not learn a single level through the procedurally generated levels. THe movement feels slick and it's honestly a great deal for a pretty low price. Just keep in mind that the game can be frustrating because of that procedural generation to some people.

Picked this up on sale and overall enjoyed it! The game has downsides (and I'm sure other reviews mention these too), but I didn't feel they were enough to give a negative review. I would recommend people pick this up on sale. [h3]Pros:[/h3] - Platforming mechanics feel good, some speed tech like Celeste - Art style looks really good without looking "too pixelated" - Music stays upbeat and changes in the background while you grind, very chill - Level tile design is somewhat varied for a bit of variety in the campaign [h3]Cons:[/h3] - Procedurally generated levels essentially change the skill ceiling into an RNG death grind - The campaign is just beating like 70 levels in a row with empty dialogue and no ending - There's a chaser enemy, and it's up your ass the whole time, furthering the RNG death grind feel [h3]The Good[/h3] It's clear that the game takes inspiration from Celeste (especially in its simpler movement), and the dash jump tech feels good to use. Platforming is tight and, most of the time, ends up feeling fair while being challenging. Gameplay loop will keep you playing for a good while and losing track of time. [h3]The Bad[/h3] This game misses the core thing that made Celeste and other precision platformers such great games: the learning grind. When the player encounters a tile or room they haven't seen before, they will likely die. Once they die, they want to study / grind / learn the tile/room to pass it. It's this get-knocked-down + get-back-up repetition, improving skill over the course of the game, that makes these games so compelling... and this game misses that entirely. Procedural generation means that, when you run into a new tile that you've never seen before and die, you likely won't see it again for a bit. A lot of times, it will show up later in a level you're trying to complete and, since you never figured out how to progress it and you're being relentlessly chased to the point where you can't take a moment and think, you will likely die again. This ends up feeling like you're less motivated to learn tiles and more motivated to grind favorable RNG for tiles you already know, which honestly feels kinda bad. A fix to the procedural generation problem could be to only procedurally generate the level the first time the player reaches it. If they die, even 50 times, they get the same generated level. The core problem isn't that it's proc gen... It's that it's proc gen on *each death*. The chaser enemy also feels pretty unfair. Need to turn around to jump on a wall behind you? Might get jumped by the chaser. Need to pause for a split second to figure out what tile is next? Chaser, bop. I feel like this could've had a bit more of a delay and still been challenging without being a pushover. Instead, it just forces you to make split-second decisions the whole time, which leads to a lot of pointless deaths as you mess up some precise tile due to an intuitive slip. [h3]Conclusion[/h3] The game feels like it's great for, and maybe caters to, someone that already learned/knows all the tiles and knows what to expect. For a casual playing this for the first time, it's a mixed bag of feel-good platforming and feel-mid-to-bad levels. If the levels became more predictable on deaths, I feel like this would be one of my favorite platformers to revisit from time to time.

After completing Nightmare Mode, I felt it was only fitting to post a review. It's a fast-paced platformer with fun obstacles, a simple yet beautiful art style, and a great soundtrack. You will have a pretty enjoyable time if you plan on finishing only on the lower difficulties. Unfortunately, the game's flaws become more apparent in the later stages. Imagine the final screen of Celeste's C Side, but with the Farewell difficulty and procedural generation. This makes learning the obstacles one of the most frustrating platformer experiences I have had. The game could easily resolve this issue by adding a seeded speedrun mode once the difficulty is unlocked. Instead, the game requires you to beat that difficulty to unlock the practice/quality-of-life feature. This ruins the casual playthrough experience for a more casual audience. As someone else put it, Celeste is a challenging game that wants you to overcome it. This game is the complete opposite: it prides itself on being difficult by making the learning process longer and harder than necessary.

Jeu fait pour le speedrun. Très fun, très prenant avec une bonne BO

本編クリア済レビューです！ 前提として私は購入目的が 「Celesteのアクション体験を味わいたい」 だったため、その点で言えば未達成です！ なので、未プレイの方は是非Celesteから遊んで下さい。 このゲームについてはジャンプ（壁蹴り）と横ダッシュのみの 正統派なアクションプラットフォーマーです。 壁にはへばりつくように張り付き、壁に触れるとダッシュが回復！？します。 クリアすると最初の地点に戻り、同じ道を無限に繰り返すのですが 新しいギミック、構造がランダムで追加されていくレベルデザインです。 アイテムを拾うと背景のロケーションが追加されます。 このゲーム体験を誰かに共有したり、おすすめできないので 作者様への敬意を込めて高評価を押しますが　はい／いいえ　が押せない中間です。

banger

Masochism