RunGunJumpGun Preview

RunGunJumpGun, developed by ThirtyThree Games LTD. is a retro side-scrolling shooter set in a sci-fi inspired world, a world that looks like the love child of TRON and Hotline Miami. Originally a project the developers thought would take a week, RunGunJumpGun has been in development for over a year and a half. The full game is due for release during the summer, I have been playing the beta version of the game and not the full release.

The game is based on a simple premise, one button to shoot in the direction the antagonist runs and one button to shoot downwards. Shooting down propels players into the air, this is used to hover through the air and past the many, many weapons that attempt to kill you. This basic premise doesn’t advance much throughout the game, but the difficulty increases at an enjoyable and challenging pace.

There sure are a lot of side-scrolling platformers on Steam, but RunGunJumpGun has a certain polish that others don’t have. The controls are responsive, and the levels are incredibly well designed. Success always feels just out of reach, so rather than getting frustrated at the difficulty, I found myself embracing it. Much like Hotline Miami, RunGunJumpGun is a case trial and error. Repeating the same section over and over again until you nail it, or just learning through muscle memory.

There’s currently two worlds to choose from, with 40 levels available on each. As I mentioned before, the game is currently in beta so more levels will likely be added before the full release. There’s a loose narrative on offer here, but it is mostly short bursts of dialogue from talking heads. It’s vague, which results in it being hard to grasp what the overarching story is. Additional game modes need to be added, there’s a lack of variety in RunGunJumpGun at the moment. A time trial mode would be an excellent addition, and would pad out the experience while keeping many people playing after finishing the campaign.

I love the game’s aesthetics, it reminds me of Hotline Miami - both visually and audibly. Stylistic pixelated visuals make RunGunJumpGun a unique experience with added VHS filters from Hotline Miami, to boot. I do have an issue with the number of flashing bright lights on screen, I struggled to play for any longer than an hour or so. It isn’t something that warrants a complete overhaul, but the developers need to tone it down a bit. I’m not even that prone to headaches, so I can’t imagine how those that are sensitive to bright lights are going to deal with it.

RunGunJumpGun has all the potential of a future hit. It’s one of the most refreshing side-scrolling platformers I’ve played in a long time. Simplicity mixed with difficulty might sound weird, but that’s what this game does. Simple controls mean that mistakes are often your fault, and success is always within your grasp - or at least past the next flying saw blade hell bent on killing you.