Runbow
Review
Are you insane yet? 07.03.18
by Rydia Q Vielehr
Podcast
review with The Wolf Doctor coming soon!
| “I
remember my first Runbow." |
The first time I saw Runbow,
(quickly renamed RunBRO) projected on
the ENTIRE WALL of the 2015 PAX Prime
Nindies @ Night event, I knew everyone I
know must play it.
Runbow
at PAX Prime 2015
Every Nindie game also had its own
little section with smaller set-ups to
play a title... however, the loudest
screaming section, by many MANY
decibels, was the growing crowd around
the title Runbow. I saw players
staring intently upon the screen while
cursing each others mothers, but then
there was also laughter and smiles and
high fives and hand shakes. Yes. This
was a game that everyone must play.
Coincidentally (or not...?) the Nindies
@ Night also revealed and showcased
Yacht Club Games Shovel Knight amiibo...
and Shovel Knight is a runnable
character in Runbow.
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| RUNBOW
IS COMING TO THE NINTENDO
SWITCH?!?!!!!! |
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<screams
incoherently in German>
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*Okay this picture is totally at
PAX East 2018, but I am still really
excited. I got to hang out with Gregor
from Headup Games and some Boston
Revolts.
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What is Runbow?
Zany platformer that pits you against up to
seven other friends (eight in total, okay nine
online) to run from side of the board to the
other while the background sporadically changes
colors to make objects and platforms randomly
appear and disappear. Play with or without
Power-Ups for maximum insanity and RUN as your
favorite Indie character or a Hue. But wait, you
can also just duke it out in the Arena or King
of the Hill... or go on an adventure or
challenge the Bowhemoth!
You might be hypnotised by
Runbow if you enjoy these titles:
Super Smash Bros., (like beating up your
friends? I know I do!), Mario Party
(like torturing your friends? I know I do!), Bomberman
(like blowing up your friends? I'm sensing a
theme...), any fast paced platformer ala Sonic
or Bubsy or Rayman, or Color
Switch (a mysterious phone game all about
color - thanks Alicia).
History
Runbow is the product of Global Game Jam
2014 where the theme was, "we don't see things
as they are, we see things as we
are." The original Runbow came out on
November 27th, 2015 for the Wii U and later
released on Steam (only Windows? sad face),
Nintendo 3DS, Xbox One, and Playstation 4...
releasing for the Nintendo Switch on July 3rd,
2018.
Playable Characters
Part of the beauty of the game is the
integration of characters from indie games -
personally, my go-to character is luchador
Tostada (there's also Juan!) from Guacameleee!,
but other favorites are Gunvolt from Azure
Striker Gunvolt, Shantae, Scram Kitty (not
familiar with the origin but it's a purple and
cat-like!), Unity-Chan, and more! Outside of
fighting mash-up games like Marvel vs.
Capcom or Super Smash Bros., you
might never get to play as some of your favorite
characters outside their original series, but
with Runbow, the power is yours!
Music
Warning: listening to music of large quantities
off the Runbow soundtrack
will make you want to dance uncontrollably and
put a gosh darn smile on your face (perhaps the
creative geniuses behind the soundtrack -
composers Don Rodrigues & Dave Parker with
mixing by Marcus Huyskens - purposely weaved the
music together to keep your spirits up after you
have died so many times). Big band and
brassy, the music makes me think of the anime
Cowboy Bebop or the Archer television series;
the intensity steps it up with a creepy
Addamsesque undertones during the Monster songs
while spinning to a more Tarentino Psycho Beach
Party twist for the Luau songs.
Style
Do you like colors? Do you REALLY
like colors? You better! When
you begin a "run" you can pick a palette
of four or eight colors - all very 60's
inspired.
From the music to
the pulpy character designs to the
splash screens designed as fake
movie posters... the
entire game might have you thinking you
stepped into a surreal movie where Spy
vs Spy intersects with a sultry night
club.
Controls
You can run with the Nintendo Switch Pro
Controller, a pair of Joy-Con, or single piece
of Joy. If playing with one Joy-Con, as always,
DON'T FORGET TO ATTACH YOUR WRIST STRAP (mostly
because it makes the controller bigger). I found
I had the most accuracy (but not entirely
precise) in playing while either playing by
myself in handheld mode or with a Pro Controller
- though I still cannot decide whether the
analog stick or directional pad lent more
accuracy for movement with the left hand
(leaning towards the former, which is very
unusual for a platformer).
In handheld mode, if you are using the
directional pad with your left hand for
movement, the directional pad for jumping and
attacking does not sit completely perfectly
because the joy-con are flipped.
I actually didn't die
here.
Gameplay
Get Ready to Run - this is the main game mode
where you run against your friends for a trophy
while advancing the screen and the backgrounds
change color in a very unsafe manner. For
example, when the background changes to green,
that green platform you are standing on
vanishes; similarly, a green wall that was
blocking your path will now be open. But, that's
not all! There might spikes or LAZERS (frickin'
lazers) or lava (why is there always lava...) or
other terrible hazards blocking your way to the
trophy. Did I mention the "Power-Ups"? Yes, you
can turn the Power-Ups off (Pure Skill) if you
want a true #NOITEMSFOXONLYFINALDESTINATION
style run, but this is not Smash. The
Power-Ups might cause you to swap positions with
another player (you thought you were ahead
unti...?) or everyone to appear as the same
runner or the entire SCREEN to flip "THE CEILING
IS THE FLOOR." You might be running from left to
right or right to left (is the villain
winning?) or bottom to top - some of my
friends were disturbed by running "the wrong
way" but I find it refreshing and CONFUSINGLY
FUN.
Step Into the Arena - fight it out in a probably
collapsing arena. (Also, did I mention I LOVE
the skull death symbol used when a runner dies?
#ilikeskulls)
King of the Hill - You want to prove you're the
best? Like no one ever was? Try to stand on the
hill marker while the timer counts down.
Warning: everything will try to stop you.
Classic Adventure - Face off against Femme
Fatale Satura (ssssexy). Move your icon around a
mini-map by completing different challenges on
individual maps (you also earn coins toward
unlocking art in the gallery). Each stage has
varying difficulty (some of the harder stages
made me cry and want to throw my Switch in the
river - just remember to breathe and watch for
patterns).
Bowhemoth - THE TOUGHEST CHALLENGE. You cannot
turn back. You cannot restart. You must just
continue as the death counter goes higher and
higher. Progress through stage after stage
(while constantly questioning your life choices
and thinking about going back to adventure mode)
before facing the Bowhemoth. Apparently, this
can be done in 10 deaths or 20 minutes according
to a trophy (I have not done that).
General game play notes - No ledge grabbing.
Double jumping. Butt pounding - you
read that right - you can even unlock a
character by butt pounding - let that sink in
for a minute... Taunting (remember to
taunt before winning - BE THAT GUY).
You unlock Shovel
Knight by doing 10 Butt Pounds. Need I say
more? =D
The game is also extremely humorous -
besides the motivational death and demoralizing
victory screens, you can turn the Fun to
"Kawaii" or "Non-Euclidean" or "Yes," and some
of the level titles are hilarious, from "Chandeliers
Are So Hot Right Now" to "That Escalator
Level" to "Raw Plank Redemption."
I wish I was a
winner.
Info about Runbow+
for Nintendo Switch
Number of Players: 9 online, 8 locally
Game Modes
Get Ready To Run
Step Into the Arena
All Hail the King of the
Hill (Hail
to the King, baby)
Classic Adventure &
Satura's Space Adventure
Take on the Bowhemoth
Gallery for Art, Characters, Record
(Trophies), Music
Digital Price: $14.99
Costume & Music Bundle $6.99,
Extra Val-Hue Bundle $12.99,
Anime Bundle $1.99, Professionals
Pack $1.99, Steampunk Pack $1.99,
Winter Pack $1.99, Satura's Space
Adventure $6.99
Physical (ooo) Deluxe Edition
$29.99, Order at Amazon!
Includes Satura's Space
Adventure, 4 costumes & music packs,
OST
Nintendo Switch Cartridge (delicious)
Note: does not include ColourMaster from
Wii U...
...but I saw a trophy for
ColourMaster...?
(game play similar to Bowser Mode in
Mario Party 10,
one player tries to utterly
annihilate their friends)
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Overall
If you have friends (or enemies) that you can
gather, I highly recommend Runbow! This
game is extremely fun for parties and anyone can
play - you can tweak the difficulty or style or
COLORS or game mode to suit your needs. For the
ambitious, you can challenge the Bowhemoth (this
might be safer done alone, though some of my
friends abandoned me and defeated without me!!!)
Runbow is best played on the big screen,
but now you can play the game anytime and
anywhere with the Nintendo Switch. With proper
placement, my friends and I managed to
successfully play Runbow in tabletop
mode on a small screen as a group (and more
people kept asking to get added in). I was
surprised how much game play you can find in the
Adventure and Bowhemoth modes for just the
single player (plus, playing by yourself can
really help your multiplayer game).
...I hope there is an
update with video capture so that we can
forever capture every single #epicfail...
"Goodnight Everybody" and Game On!
Thank you for reading.
Thank you, Headup
and 13amgames,
for the game (and Gregor, for the chance to
meet you!)
Thank you to everyone forced to play Runbow
with me in the past (Ryan, Mr. Mostly
Mediocre, Richard, Matt, Lisa, Amy, Big K,
Jon, Ricario the Lucario, Zach, The Wolf
Doctor, Abby, Kellsey, Gary, Elvis, Alicia,
people I have miserably failed to list).
If you check back later,
there might be a video here because of all the
work by Ricario the Lucario.
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