Gravity Runner Review

By , on August 18, 2010

Gravity Runner
Download on the AppStore
3 out of 5

PROS

  • Trial and error gameplay without too much frustration.
  • Easy to pick up controls.

CONS

  • Visual style is messy.
  • Lacks variety by the end.

VERDICT

Gravity Runner is certainly a fun title to jump in to, but unless you can stomach the constant failure it's a hard game to love.


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We Are Colin's latest title 'Gravity Runner' is yet another interesting take on the horizontal runner, however instead of merely dealing with deadly pits, spikes and enemies, you'll have to manipulate gravity in order to survive.

Controlling gravity is by no means an easy thing to master, especially when you're limited to flipping once per jump. And it's certainly something you'll need to master as each of the game's levels are a gauntlet of deadly pitfalls ready to kill you and throw you back to the last checkpoint, ruining your overall time. Thankfully the controls are simple enough to master, with a single tap for jumping and a second tap in mid-air to flip gravity.

I'm not a huge fan of the faux-pixel-art style used for the visuals as it's inconsistent and looks more like a cheap filter placed over what would have been perfectly serviceable sprites. However, one benefit of the grid-like patterns is the ability to learn precise points to initiate jumps for refining runs down to better times.

After a while Gravity Runner feels more like The Impossible Game than another attempt at Canabalt, which may frustrate some, but it's a challenge worth taking as the levels are relatively short and checkpoints are placed at reasonable intervals to ensure success while learning intricate sections. Worth checking out if you're a fan of difficult platformers or a bit of a score junky.

Screenshots

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