They Always Run

The story of this game feels like Firefly, Star Wars and M. Night Shyamalan (back in his Sixth Sense / Unbreakable days) had a child together. It's good. I'm not sure if it would make a great movie, but for a video game, it is up there for me. Most of it will probably feel like deja vu, but the end might hit you hard and leave you wanting for a sequel. The game is fairly short, fairly forgiving in terms of difficulty level (not sure how you'll fare if you are hopeless with action games, but if you played any of the Megaman games and beat all the robots prior to the final stages, this will be a breeze). The parkour element of the game was pretty great for me. It really gives you the impression you're some kind of post-human athletic action hero and your heart might skip a beat or two as you are jumping/dashing/grapple hooking your way across chasms and you're desperately looking at what you'll be grabbing on next thinking to yourself "what, there's more? We're not at the other end yet?!?!". The fighting is serviceable. You figure out a couple of simple patterns, dodge a lot in crowds, press riposte on cue to block & counter, deflect or roll away at the last minute as an enemy shot closes in, hit that near-indestructible shielded enemy with a destabilising attack, etc. Nothing you haven't seen before and slightly repetitive, but its fine and it is done well enough. Couple of bad points: - The dialogue for the story have varying length automatic timers to go forward which might rush you in your reading. - The controls really aren't as crisp as they could be. At times, you'll see yourself struggling to jump on platforms that should be no-brainer jumps and many action moves have rather long follow-through - You can't run on your ship, though there's not a great distance to travel. Running out of space. Not a near-perfect game, but a nice one. If you like cream of the crop crystal crisp action, you might not dig this, but otherwise, give it a try.

My first impression of the game was stellar. The graphics are absolutely gorgeous. The gameplay is fun, fast paced, familiar enough to be easy to learn but with enough unique elements to make it stand out. The premise, setting and mood may all seem a bit too reminiscent of The Mandalorian, but hey - there are worse things to rip off. However, as I kept playing some uglier elements reared their heads. The story has some twists I really didn't much like (though there were also some elements and side-characters I love). And there is a particularly infuriating boss fight that the game forces you to lose no matter what - even if you get the boss' health to zero, he still won't die, cause the story says so. The final insult is the fact the game ends on a cliffhanger giving the player very little sense of accomplishment from reaching the end. Overall, it's a fun game, and a very pretty one, but I'd recommend picking it up on sale, or better yet -when the sequel arrives, so perhaps you can play the whole thing without experiencing the let-down of the cliffhanger.

I like this game. I want to love this game. Given my busy schedule, it's hard to keep me glued to a game, and I keep booting this one up. But it's got problems. The game can be breathtakingly beautiful. In the first level the characters become silhouettes fighting atop ruins of a sunset-painted desert. Gorgeous. The concepts and flow are nice: you parkour through scenery and then whip up on a ton of characters using execution parries, super-slams and guns. And the boss fights are clever and creative. When it flows right, I go to a zen place. But it doesn't work. I like Katana Zero and Super Meat Boy, so I'm down for a challenge, but rather than finding elegant solutions to interesting fights, the game swarms you with mooks to the point where you're better off with slam-spam and runnin'-and-gunnin'. The intersection between parkour and combat causes horrible moments where you'll jump to get away, only to touch a ledge and trigger a climb animation while you get shot to death. And the characters feel like sprites sliding over a screen and swinging swords at hitboxes, rather than real characters that have impact on one another. You can't engage the game on its selling points. The setting is great, but a veneer. The game implies a larger setting with the freedom to explore, but in reality, every level is linear, and you'll follow them in a linear path. Even the upgrade screen looks like a web of choices, but will unlock in a relatively linear fashion. I suspect Alawar had big dreams for this game, but when faced with a choice between buckling down for years to finish it (ala Askiisoft), they chose instead to round it off and ship it. The result a frustrating game that gives you glimpses of greatness. I don't regret buying it. I think you should get it. I think you'll enjoy the flashes of greatness you see. And I'm going to keep my eye on Alawar. But know that you're getting a flawed gem.

I have finished and enjoyed this game. It's well-made and well-executed. The controls are fine, the music is lovely and the scenery can be stunning. The combat can be a little janky but otherwise, it does its job well. The story is good and there is a good twist in it. There are a few RPG elements in the story (where you decide certain dialogue decisions, or whether or not to bring in bounties alive or dead). But there is one big problem... The ending. I would compare this ending to KOTOR 2. It's not that it's a bad ending... It's non-existant. There is no sense of recompense, of satisfaction. I don't know if the devs didn't have enough time, ran out of money or were rushed to complete it, but the ending is terrible. It's so jarring, especially when compared to the slow, well-woven narrative that was displayed throughout the entire game. I don't know if the devs are planning on making a sequel, or a prequel, or what they have in store for this. There is great lore in this game and it would be very interesting to see this universe be expanded upon. But the ending of They Always Run is an abrupt stop to what was otherwise a great game. It's the only reason I removed one star from my rating, preventing this game from being a true classic. If you like Prince of Persia, Flashback and other 2D action platformers, considering getting this game.