BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien

Like most of Bit.Trip's catalog, this game came and went largely unnoticed. When I saw it appear, I thought: "What happened to Runner 1?" and "Where did this bs IP even come from?" (I wasn't aware, at the time, of Bit.Trip's long-yet-unremarkable history on PC). However, I noticed that the few critics that reviewed it gave it some unexpectedly high scores and, while thoroughly in the mood for some mindless, twitchy fun, I bought it. Within an hour, it had shaken loose my once firmly rooted view that anything flying under the radar probably belongs there (even if that is still true for 95% of all sub-radar games). That's not to say it's a masterpiece deserving of a place on everyone's hard drive. But within the "runner" genre, it is the most professional, polished, enjoyable and skillfully made game of all. You will find yourself humming the music, joyously soaking up the whimsical, colorful scenery and pressing restart countless times as you strive for Perfect+ in every level along Ru...

Runner2 takes everything great about the original BIT.TRIP Runner and smooths it out into something more polished, colorful and approachable, without losing that addictive rhythm-platforming core. The gameplay loop is still the same at heart: run forward, jump, kick, slide, dodge obstacles and stay in sync with the music. But Runner2 feels more forgiving than the first game. Checkpoints mid-level make a huge difference and the difficulty curve is way friendlier. It’s still challenging, but it feels less punishing and more fun to master. Visually, the upgrade is massive. Instead of the minimalist retro look, Runner2 goes full-on cartoon surrealism. Bright, goofy worlds, weird characters and over-the-top narration from Charles Martinet (yep, the voice of Mario) give it a unique charm. It’s silly in the best way possible. The soundtrack is, of course, the star of the show. Each action you perform adds layers to the music and hitting a perfect run feels like performing a song....

This game is a vast improvement over the first game, with better feeling controls, better level design, better music and checkpoints. This game as a casual playthrough is absolutely incredible, the only issue with casual is that the 4th boss felt like it needed a bit more telegraphing. Then there's 100%. This game turns from great to monotonous insanely fast. First, beat everything again twice on Easy and Hard while making sure that you get the Bullseye which is nearly impossible to get consistently and the Rewards. The Rewards were painful. Most are fine, you get them for doing 100% naturally within replaying the levels constantly, but the Dance ones were ridiculous. What do you mean "Dance 5000 times"? And "Dance for a total of 1 hour."? It didn't take too long but it was obnoxious. In summary, this game is absolutely incredible as a casual player, but if you're a completionist, prepare for a lot of monotony.