Little Runner Review

Sometimes we're a little too distracted to watch where we're going. Such is the case for Little Runner. Lost in his music, the pencil-sketched hero doesn't seem to notice all of the bumps and obstacles blocking his path. Can you move the ground around to provide Little Runner with safe passage?

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Sometimes we're a little too distracted to watch where we're going. Such is the case for Little Runner. Lost in his music, the pencil-sketched hero doesn't seem to notice all of the bumps and obstacles blocking his path. Can you move the ground around to provide Little Runner with safe passage?

This is a fairly simple game, even by iPhone standards. Little Runner is too distracted by his headphones to watch where he's going. You'll need to raise and lower chunks of ground in front of him to make sure he doesn't trip or walk into a wall. Doing this only requires one finger. You'll select a piece of ground and control it by sliding up and down. And while the mechanics you'll find here are ridiculously simple, Little Runner offers up a tremendous amount of challenge.

A big factor in this challenge is the speed — there's a reason this game isn't called Little Walker. If the ground only needed the occasional tweak his speed wouldn't present that much of an obstacle. The ground, however, demands constant attention. Your finger will be dancing with lightning speed from one section of ground to the next in an effort to raise or lower it to meet Little Runner's feet before he has an accident. It may be a simple game in concept, but be prepared for frantic action if you want Little Runner to see his way to the end of the game.

That frantic action is both the highlight of and the downfall to Little Runner's big adventure. Your adrenaline isn't pumping just because the game is so engaging, but because it becomes frustratingly difficult fairly early on. Those seeking a challenge will love what Little Runner has to offer, but if you don't have lightning fast fingers you'll probably have difficulty getting past the first 4 or 5 stages.

Little Runner is as much about style and presentation as it is about gameplay. Graphically, the game presents itself as a pencil drawing come to life. That's not to say that Little Runner has the vibe of a child's artwork or a world of stick figures like so many titles do nowadays. No, Little Runner feels more like a hip art college film or a cool piece of advertising. Kind of like Fido Dido for the 21st century.

They style of Little Runner comes across in more than just the art. The character, as you may have already guessed, is wearing a pair of headphones. You'll hear what he's hearing; an original blend of trance and rock elements with a steady beat and a vocal track droning on at you to “run…. run…. run….” The whole presentation definitely has a unique art house vibe, but in a good way.

Little Runner is a game that favors style over substance, but not in a way that knocks things completely out of balance. If you're looking for a game with a great sense of atmosphere and easy-to-learn mechanics, Little Runner is a title you should definitely be considering — just be prepared for a challenging experience.

The team behind Little Runner have already released one update that added in a variety of obstacles and new levels. If support like this continues, you're going to get a terrific value for your 99 cents.

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      60 out of 100
      Jim Squires is the Editor-in-Chief of Gamezebo. Everything you see passes his eyes first, so we like to think of him as "the gatekeeper of cool stuff." He likes good games, great writing, and just can't say no to a hamburger. Also, he is not a bear.