One of my last appointments of Pax East 2018 was at the Choice Provisions booth to see their next installment in the Runner series, Runner 3. They had a Ps4 version but I was there to try it out on the Nintendo Switch and it looks and feels just as good! Runner 3 is part platformer, part rhythm based where you need to make precision jumps and moves based on sounds and music in the level.
If you don’t master your jumps and controls, it’s going to be along day for you. During gameplay, you have the option to collect gold or diamonds. The gold path is the easier of the two stage paths but the diamond path isn’t unbeatable, it’s just a little bit tougher. There are branching paths during the levels so you will have to replay the stage multiple times to collect everything. Also, there are levels in the game that are so hard that developers have only beaten a couple of them.
There are eleven total and you will need to have perfect control and precision if you expect to get half way, which is where I got to in the one level I played. Controls are simple where you move forward on your own and all you need to do is jump. You also have the ability to slide, which you will use to slide under obstacles and if you want to be cool and slide through the whole level, as well as punch and kick objects in your path as well.
You also have the ability to double jump and glide after you jump so you will have to master these controls as well. One other feature is the art of the quick land and that is where you jump and push down right away and you will go straight down. This will be the only way you can make some of the jumps as this is the only was you can set the timing up for the jumps. One wrong move on the timing and it’s back to the start if you didn’t make the checkpoint.
During the stages, there are short vehicle-riding portions where you can ride a plane, for example, and fly through the short air ride. The only tough part about landing is when you need to match where the land starts so you can jump back into your running. There were minor parts of the demo that had your character meet an untimely end for no reason, like on a bridge, because the ground wasn’t level and that shouldn’t happen, in my opinion. Also during the levels is the boom boxes you can collect that will give your runner that classic rainbow as well as make you run faster. The more boom boxes you collect during the stage, the faster you will run and thus the tougher it will be.
As I have mentioned, some of the jumps are unforgiving but this is what the Runner series is known for, at times tough gameplay and at times fair gameplay. Runner 3 has that as well as interesting add-ons, tough as nails bonus levels, and did I mention you get to fly an air plane? There will also be new playable characters but you will have to play the game yourself to find out who as well as what else is new.