Runner3

[HandsomeDead]

So this is the third game in the Bit. Trip Runner series, the sequel Bit. Trip Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien.  First impression is I'm disappointed with the title of this game.  Runner3 does not do the legacy of the series any justice in terms of title.

 

It sticks pretty well to the formula made in the earlier games so if you've played one you'll know what to expect.  It's an auto runner game where the obstacles and collectables create a little tune along with the game's music, and as you progress through the levels the obstacles get trickier.  Simple, really.

 

But Runner3 adds a few things to make things trickier.  One of them I'm not the biggest fan of and that's vehicle sections.  They just turn a very tight and nuanced game into something that feels like it comes from a much worse game.  There isn't very many of them but I can't help but have an inner little groan when one comes up.

The second addition doesn't seem much but it is applied in some genius and evil ways: a double jump.

 

When I first started playing I thought the double jump was just their to make things easier, like you can correct some badly timed jump.  But as you go through the game you start to see that creative use of the double jump is the only way to traverse the obstacles and get all the collectables.  And sometimes double jumping is dangerous so you can't do it at all so it's not something you just do all the time; far from it.  And combining it with the slight glide (hold the jump button) and the hard drop (dress down to fall quickly which was introduced in Runner2) you get some evil level design to make use of it all.

 

These moves also make it so the levels can have multiple ways of doing them and that is explored in Gold Runs and Gem Runs where the latter is a harder route to collect everything.  Sometimes the paths just fork off into a different place but there are also situations where you're required to traverse the same bit of level but in a different and harder way.

 

And it is very hard.  I think I remember Runner2 being a little easier than the original but this is much harder, at least to get everything.  Maybe just going through the game not doing the gem runs would be easy enough but there is evil, evil stuff in this game and I kind love it.

[spatular]

i didn't like this at first, then i started to get into it, then i got stuck because i didn't know what to do and couldn't find a youtube video, there probably is one by now. the previous games were never about working out what to do, you always knew what to do but doing it was not easy. from what i played i didn't like it as much as the first 2 but it was still good. think i was near the end, but barely got any collectables and stuff. i should go back and finish it.

[HandsomeDead]

Yeah it can be hard at first because you'll see a pattern of obstacles and it won't be immediately apparent how to deal with them.  I think it just comes with familiarity.  Once you've done a few of them you start to recognise the patterns and avoiding them comes naturally again.

 

I've beat the end boss but it looks like there is bonus world but I don't know how to unlock it.  I hope it you don't have to do any of the impossible levels because unsurprisingly they do live up to their name.

[spatular]

It's not a pattern to get through, there's a thing on its own that blocks your path and I don't know what to do to get past. Maybe I missed a tutorial at some point or something.

[HandsomeDead]

1 hour ago, spatular said:

It's not a pattern to get through, there's a thing on its own that blocks your path and I don't know what to do to get past. Maybe I missed a tutorial at some point or something.

 

Is it the tall block you have to double jump and kick? 

[spatular]

Unclear, but if I ever go back to it I'll give that a try, cheers!