Runner3

Runner3 is one of those games that could have been really strong but ultimately falls flat. There's some really good bits & bobs in here that get overshadowed by the developer overwringing the core concept to the detriment of enjoyable gameplay.

The good

They did expand the gameplay from RUNNER and Runner2 by the introduction of the double-jump and ground pound. From the get-go, these both help the player learn that there's more than one way to skin a cat, and that mistakes can be recovered form with fast enough reactions. The first two games were far less forgiving, and this adjustment gives the player greater agency.

The level design eventually catches up with this mechanic and it's largely exploited pretty well, making the player think quickly (especially with Speed Gates introduced, doubling Commander Video's speed) and leading to some satisfying Running.

Levels now have a gold path the player must complete first to progress, followed by a harder gem path. These gem paths were usually the more interesting.

Accessibility is further increased here from Runner2 with difficulty managed through obstacle density and checkpoint frequency. Where as the original game (like much of the BIT.TRIP series) was unapologetically hardcore in terms of gameplay loop, Runner3 allows itself to be beatable in some way shape or form by almost anybody - that's a good thing, in my book. (Not that I have a problem with how RUNNER or the BIT.TRIP series more widely handled things. But I don't have any accessibility issues that I'd be unqualified to talk about anyway...)

However, these positives are significantly overshadowed by...

The bad

The most egregious nonsense in this game is the horrific camera angle switching. RUNNER and Runner2 were unashamedly 2d and they worked all the better for that. I criticised elements of Runner2, but compared to this it was a masterpiece. All too frequently, Runner3 would have the camera pan to some weird angle to make depth or height perception near impossible and increased reliance on rote learning sections... ugh!

Combine this with vehicle sections and you have a double whammy of awful vehicle sections and we have some pretty dreadful gameplay. Beating any of these levels first try whilst achieving a Perfect (all gold collected) is nigh-on impossible. Sure, these sections are eminently beatable, and far from the trickiest things to contend with, but they're dull, boring and antithetical to Runner.

How either of these got past play-testing is beyond me.

The retro worlds are just a series of bland 2d platformer levels that aren't really worth bothering with.

The music is also pretty lacklustre, consisting of fairly tedious loops that lack much life and relying on the gold and gems to do the heavy lifting, but they're not up to the task. World 4 of Runner2 had pretty bad music - that's the bar for nearly all of Runner3 (the Impossible levels excepted, but you only get that one track for nine levels).

Springs are no longer melodic but make a generic "boing" sound effect that adds nothing to the experience.

Blocking beats is no longer a thing, one of the strongest obstacles of the first two games. I imagine this is because of the camera-switching nonsense, meaning the left and right dpad are needed to move left and right with the camera behind. I really missed beat-blocking.

Controls - don't even bother on keyboard. The path-switching mechanic completely screws up any sensible mapping. I never bothered and went straight to the controller (I completed all gold in RUNNER (excl. Retro) and Runner2 (including Retro) and 100% in RERUNNER on keyboard with no issues). Controls cannot be rebound for some reason. The keybinds on controller are intuitive and responsive enough, though - I picked them up seamlessly.

The meh

The story is completely superfluous, adding or detracting nothing.

There's a lot of filler collectables that necessitate revisits of some levels (they're off the gold path in many cases) - do yourself a favour and either skip them or toggle the difficulty settings to the easiest. I'm not convinced skipping this means you're missing out on anything.

The whimsy from Runner2 seems to be in overdrive here. Again, it's nothing that makes or breaks the game in any way. Charles Martinet turns in a decent performance as the Narrator, but if that wasn't in the game at all you'd really be none the wiser.

Conclusion

Runner3 made me appreciate what a good game Runner2 was. My review of that game was quite harsh (but, fair, I think), but I had no hesitation to recommend it.

I can't say the same here. This one definitely feels like it should have "Mixed" reviews; I'm quite baffled how, at the time of writing, they're "mostly positive".

This one's worth skipping if you're not absolutely committed to getting through all of the Runner games. The other three are far superior and a better use of hard earned cash.

Played on Switch originally, got here on sale. Opinions haven't changed much; it's attempt to go all in for the zany and whimsical design from Runner2 weakens the gameplay drastically from the first two games. Level design leans heavily to replaying levels multiple times that would have been better as single levels instead. Not to mention holding back gems and collectibles meaning you HAVE to replay levels multiple times for completion. It's not necessarily a bad game, but falls short of the expectations of being the third game in the series. Your time is better spent playing Runner2 or more recently BIT.TRIP RERUNNER.

A real evolution on what a Runner game can be. Quality over quantity, every level feels distinct while still sticking to the theme of the land in which it takes place. The fluid, cancel-able moves make the skill ceiling even higher than before, and every challenge feels possible no matter how hard.

Also the narrator does an even better job than last time.

Run and buy it 3

I love the comedy and the animation and the song. Auto-runner genre is not really for me though as I like to roam around freely. I recommend it only if you like this genre.

I really do love this game, but I feel it has its flaws - more so than Runner2. So while I had a fantastic time with this game, I still think its predecessor is the overall better experience.

Really really bad

Listen, this game is great, it's just way too short. I expected a lot more worlds... more than just 3. Let me just say it again, this game is great, it's just way too short.

Runner3 is the best looking, best feeling, best sounding Bit Trip Runner game yet. The whole series is an easy recommendation, and Runner3 is no exception!