Tron Run/r Review
Disney have brought Tron back for its latest runner game, Tron Run/r, which is available on PC, Xbox One (soon) and PS4. Sanzaru Games have created this game and it features 3 main modes, Runner and Cycle, which consist of 32 levels and a Stream version, which is a combination of the two modes. The game is priced at $19.99/£11.99 and is only available digitally.
The main aim of the running mode is to simply run through the level, avoiding objects, enemies and jumping over empty spaces. There are a variety of different moves such as jumping, sliding, hovering, wall running plus the ability to throw a light disc. This mode is a lot of fun and gradually gets harder with each level. Its a fast action packed game that takes practice to complete and master each level.
The Cycle mode is very fast paced, trying to get between the gates before your time runs out is very tricky but a lot of fun. It reminded me a little of the original Wipeout, with its speed and colours, but the cycle mode also threw in some memories of Road Rash and more traditional style racing games of trying to race through a level without any worry about getting lost. I really enjoyed playing the cycle mode and trying to get better each time.
The endless streaming version includes both the running and cycle modes, with a single misstep ending the game, very much like a classic arcade game of the 80’s. This is my least favourite mode in the game and something I didn’t really enjoy.
Tron Run/r feels like a game which doesn’t quite know what it wants to be, this style of game hasn’t been seen very often on consoles nowadays and is much more at home on mobile devices. It does look very impressive, it is bright and very colourful, it moves well and looks beautiful on the big screen. Which is why I love that this game is on the consoles and not on mobile devices, which is where a lot of people seem to have categorised this game as nothing more than a mobile game since its similar to other runners like Spider-Man Unlimited, but it feels much more deeper than that and the bigger screens give it more scope to deliver a better experience.
There are plenty of customisation options including making the characters look like they did in the original 80’s movie and changing colours, all of which are nice, but it doesn’t really matter to much to me personally. Maybe that’s being an 80’s kid, Mario and Sonic never had alternative looks, so its not something I regard as useful and pretty much keep the default look in any game, as that’s how the developers wanted characters to look.
As you might expect, the game features a soundtrack worthy of Tron, with lots of remixes from Giorgio Moroder and Raney Shockne, Autechre, Bibio, patten, and Joywave, but honestly, I’m not a big fan of dance/electronic music and don’t have a clue who any of these artists are, so I did turn the music off after a short time because it just wasn’t something for me.
One thing I wasn’t impressed with was the additional of microtransactions, there are a wide variety of extra boosts and bonuses, which can be purchased with in game currency “bits”, which can be obtained by completing levels and mastering them. But often, especially with the cycle races, I needed the time slow down or speed boost to be able to get through the levels. This by itself isn’t a major issue, but the ability to buy extra bits in packs varying from $5 up to $15 does seem unnecessary for a simple game, which has already been purchased. To me, this game should either be unlocked with a full purchase or a free to play model with additional purchases, like we are used to on mobile devices.
There is also a Deluxe edition with some in-game currency, more customisation options and a additional DLC pack called the Outlands, which features 16 more levels. I’m fine with having an extra DLC pack with levels, but the “bit” packs feel a little dirty. However I think this season pass should have been included in the main price as it still feels a little pricey.
For £12/$20, this game is a lot of fun, I certainly got plenty of entertainment out of the game and feel I got my money’s worth at that price, however it was slightly odd that I purchased the game for £7.99 on its launch day and it went up in price after the weekend. I’ll be honest, once I saw the difference in price when going back to write this review, I would have highly recommended downloading this game at that price and I feel I have got my money’s worth (considering a movie rental is about £4.50 on the PSN), but that extra 50% means it moves into slightly different territory in terms of value.
It’s not a massive AAA game, its not going to set the world alight with a groundbreaking experience, but it’s a solid game that I have enjoyed playing, its a little bit addictive trying to beat the levels and I enjoyed playing a different style of game, if you find mobile versions of running games too simple on mobile devices, try this out. And if the price is maybe a little bit of a turn off for what many might call a “deluxe” mobile game, when this goes into the sale, pick it up, it is certainly worth downloading.
Did you try Tron Run/R? What did you think?