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[i]RGB RUN[/i] is a game that looks casual but can be frustratingly difficult. It is not for everyone and is rather mentally taxing. It is short once you get into it (~1.5 hours to complete with all achievements) and the developer is very active in listening to players opinions on how to make things better. The game has 50 fixed levels and is a serious challenge to the player in terms of concentration and ability to react relatively quickly.
Warning: This game really isn't for everyone, it is not casual at all. My first 10-15 minutes of playing was laced with many negative thoughts and emotions and wanting to put the game down completely. But as I played more and got more into it, I felt drawn back into the game. I ended up playing through the whole thing twice. (Second time was a bit easier than the first, though not by much.)
When I play this game, I am constantly reminded of a video I watched years ago of some person who modded a bicycle to turn left when the handles were turned right and vice versa. Except I felt this game was a bit more difficult to deal with. Fortunately my own body was not placed in harm's way when playing this game and I took it as a challenge, and I am happy to have come out feeling like it was a worthwhile experience. I would not have played it twice if I thought differently.
[h1]Gameplay[/h1]
Look at the trailer, what you see is what you get, though the trailer doesn't do the game's difficulty justice. So let me try to break it down a bit for you.
The game is set up in first-person perspective. You can play using WASD + Mouse or use a controller. You can reset a level at any time by pressing the R key, which is very useful in the first half of the game (to replay the needed color sequence--see below).
The game self-describes as a "fast and hardcore runner," which is pretty accurate. The fast part is because you have a moving spike block behind you that resets your level if you don't move fast enough. The hardcore part is mainly because of the ability of the game to cause a destructive and incendiary reaction in the hands of some players.
There are 50 levels, each is unique. The game is effectively broken up in 25 levels of memorization to start, and 25 levels to conclude involving momentary reaction speeds.
The initial 25 levels gives you a color sequence to begin. You memorize this sequence and move to the appropriately colored gate via the correct sequence. This is a test of memory and concentration to begin, but after a while, you realize that the colors on the gate in front of you starts to change from corridor to corridor, and you cannot play it mindlessly anymore. Before long, you find yourself being told as you are moving that your controls become inverted, so if you move your mouse to the left, you look right instead. Then the corridors start changing color, the controls invert back and forth, and you still have to keep track of the color sequence in your head. My first look at this game ended rather quickly, I felt like I was being slapped around by a game. I wasn't having any fun, and I wasn't really sure if I wanted to keep going. I recorded my first few minutes of fumbling around with the game, though the recording ended when I really couldn't dedicate enough brain power to keep going in that same session. Plus the game really pissed me off. Games are supposed to be fun, right? I sure wasn't having any at this point. Here's my video:
https://youtu.be/xW3OVNgGhhc
The last 25 levels involve a momentary flash of a color and then you needing to go down the correct path. It starts off being rather intuitive, then similarly to the first part of the game, you are faced with variously interchanging controls and corridor colors. The final 10 levels offer you dark corridors that don't light up until after you have been told which color you need to go through.
I find that the game does not really get more difficult, it just changes. Some later levels 40+ are very easy, while some earlier levels seem exceedingly difficult.
Fortunately any failure just results in the game automatically resetting, no button pushing, clicking, or any other actions are needed.
[h1]Controls[/h1]
As above, WASD + Mouse for movement, and R for reset level. Or you can use a controller, I tested with a XBox One controller, which works. I recommend KB+M for this game.
[h1]Graphics and Music[/h1]
Minimal graphics, nothing remarkable. Nothing exciting.
Soundtrack is pretty nice though, I enjoyed the music that went with the game. (The game sounds start at a low volume and you may have to turn it up to hear. Or you may want to keep it quiet to focus better on playing.)
[h1]Pricing[/h1]
Price is set at $1.99 USD base, which is reasonable. It would probably get a bit more sales at the 0.99 rate, especially how minimalistic and simple in idea this game is.
[h1]Audience[/h1]
Fast-paced first-person movement and difficulty that will induce rage in a lot of players. If you feel like you want to play for a challenge, go for it. Otherwise, stay away.
[h1]Positives[/h1]
+Simplistic and easy to understand
+Seriously challenging
+Mildly addictive in the same way a lot of single-action games are
+Good soundtrack
+Developer active and listens to players, with quick response
+Achievements
+Reasonably priced (Base 1.99 USD is fair)
[h1]Negatives[/h1]
-Difficulty will cause perhaps too much frustration with a lot of players
-No leaderboards, and no scoring system
-Preset levels, low replayability at the moment (though the developer is actively working on some ideas for improvement)
[h1]Conclusion[/h1]
[i]RGB RUN[/i] is an interesting single-action runner in first-person perspective that has some serious difficulty and looks to be designed to really challenge the player, and to piss off the player at the same time. The game is easy to understand but really mentally taxing to play through. It's reasonably priced, so if you are up for the challenge, give it a shot. You may find yourself enjoying it a bit after overcoming some of the frustration, as I did. I cannot tell you how many times I failed on my way to overcoming all of the levels in this game, but it was a lot. I completely turned around my initial very negative impression of this game after spending some more time with it.
[quote]I received the product for free. I did not receive any compensation to write this review. The opinions represented here are entirely my own and were not influenced in any way.[/quote]
