RunBean Galactic

Did you know that before DMA Design settled on the name Grand Theft Auto, they were thinking about calling the game Race ‘N Chase? Now, I’m not saying that the name Race ‘N Chase would have doomed the series, but I think we can all agree that they made the right decision by going with the more memorable title. Names matter, and you definitely want to pick one that sticks in your head. I bring this up because more than two hours into playing developer Khud0’s newest action game, I realized that I had completely forgotten the title. And with a name like RunBean Galactic, can you blame me? Not only does it not roll off the tongue, but it’s so forgettable that the developer forgot to even mention it on the title screen. Is the rest of the game more memorable than the title? That’s what we’re about to find out in this review of RunBean Galactic.

RunBean Galactic is a simple game that you can buy right now for under a dollar. We don’t normally review a lot of games that cheap, but after spending a few hours racing around the planet, I have a few things to say. Plus, this game comes to us from the same developer that gave us the brilliant Grizzland, which recently found its way to home consoles, thanks in large part to the Defunct Games audience asking for it. If Khud0 is going to listen to us, the least I can do is play his new game.

RunBean Galactic is a very simple infinite runner where we control an astronaut running around the edge of a two-dimensional planet. As the character runs, they’ll need to jump over the Sneaky Spikes and roll under the Toothy Traps. From time-to-time the astronaut will hit a street sign, which will reverse the direction they are running. They’ll also be able to pick up a handy shield, which will protect them from accidentally hitting a spike or running into an obstacle that can’t be dodged. The goal is to stay alive as long as possible, with your time slowly ticking up in the center of the planet.

I wish I could say that there’s some hidden depth or extra layer to RunBean Galactic, but there isn’t. This is the entire game. You can buy a few extra costumes in the store and go for the easy achievements, and that’s about it. There isn’t a leaderboard or extra mode or even different planets to run on. About the craziest the game gets is the day/night cycle, which goes a tiny way to make the gameplay less repetitive.

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Obviously, you can only expect so much from a one-dollar game, which is why I normally don’t review games that are this cheap. However, there are a few questionable gameplay decisions that keep this from being the simple, inexpensive time-waster this game could be. A good example of this is how we can jump over spikes and roll under traps. Seeing as you can jump while rolling, there’s never a reason to let your finger off of the roll button. This makes half of the obstacles too easy, letting you focus exclusively on jumping over the red spikes. It would be better (and more challenging) if you could either roll or jump, not both at the same time.

Perhaps that most questionable decision comes in the form of a wall that the player can’t jump over or dodge in any way. The sole purpose of the wall is to rob you of a shield, since the only way to run through it is to take a little damage. This is bad design, and not just because there were times when I couldn’t pick up a shield before smacking head-first into the wall. We should be able to avoid every type of obstacle, so the idea of purposely taking damage does not sit right with me.

There are other problems with the game, but most of them can be explained away by the budget price. It would have been nice to run on different planets or experience randomized backgrounds. An extra mode or online leaderboard would have helped, too. The game looks fine and is easy to play, but I quickly grew bored of the simple gameplay and samey stages. It’s a runner that ultimately doesn’t offer much new or original, even at the low, low price of one-dollar. RunBean Galactic is fun for a while, but you’re better off seeking out Grizzland, a much better game made by the same developer.