Back in 2009 there was a craze for a game known as The Impossible Game. Grip Games placed the player as a squarethat had the simple task of jumping. Jumping over gaps. Jumping over spikes. Jump and jump some more. It sounds simple, but it was deceptively challenging. In this RunBean Galactic review, you’ll learn how The Impossible Game inspired a game that was even more impossible-er.
Unlike it’s inspiration, RunBean Galactic isn’t a one-button game. No, here you have two buttons to content with: jump and duck. Double the commands, double the challenge? Well, it’s not far off. And what makes matters worse is RunBean Galactic plays in an unfamiliar format.
It’s essentially a platform game boiled down to it’s most basics. However, while most platform games – The Impossible Game included – see the player running from left-to-right, RunBean Galactic changes things dramatically. Now, the player continuously runs around a 360 degree plane. After you pass each obstacle – with the aforementioned jump or duck maneuvers – new obstacles will appear. You can see every challenge you’ll be facing ahead of time. However, in doing so the game splits your concentration between the current obstacle and those which are appearing for your next run.
It’s telling that success in the game is measured in seconds. It’s a simple case of survival, and it’ll certainly take a few attempts until you manage to surpass double figures. Even the most skilled players may take dozens to get up to triple figures. There’s not just spikes to jump and barriers to duck under; RunBean Galactic has an assortment of tricks and treats, and doesn’t offer up any explanation for them. It’s simply run into them (or over/under them) and see what happens.
Bonus stars and keys to collect, signposts which change the direction of your run, locks to open and much more are presented on each run. Furthermore, there’s no reason or rhyme to when they’ll appear. Once you’ve survived long enough to see a new obstacle, it gets added to the roster and can subsequently appear within the opening few seconds of a run.
Your score for each run will be added to a game-wide tally, and this total score can be used as credit to purchase new ‘beans’. Or, rather, cosmetic changes for your avatar. However, this is all the game offers in terms of mechanics outside of the simple core gameplay loop. As evidenced in this RunBean Galactic review; this is not a game that is meant to take over your life. RunBean Galactic is a game designed to entertain and infuriate in equal measure, and for that it’s a perfectly fun way to spend an evening or two.
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