Rock, Paper, Shotgun

If nothing else, I have to say that Run – a self-described “series of interlinking segments twisting text into action into strategy” – is admirably eclectic. It begins as a platformer – except with stages made of unabashedly cryptic prose. But then, after you’ve unfolded a few chunks of the sci-fi-tinged tribal tale, Run enters “dream” segments that take the form of – oddly enough – old-school videogames. Impressively, each stage builds these throwbacks on top of each other – so first, it’s just Snake, but before long, you’ll encounter dreams that begin as Scorched Earth, morph into Space Invaders using debris left over from your tank battle, transition into Snake using the remains of both previous games – with Snake’s trail then forming the pathway for a pixelated platformer. Oh, and there’s also a recurring farming level, because why not? So that’s the cool part. Problem is, none of those thing fit particularly well together.

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