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It’s like the movie Speed, only you’re on foot.
The year is 20xx…. okay not really, but you do have a robot suit. Run or Die is a runner game where you can’t stop moving or the bomb in your R.O.D. suit will explode. Your job? Run away from the evil organization that’s chasing you to steal the suit. You’re goal is to make it back to the doc where he’ll be able to put you in a Safe Zone where he can get the suit off of you. The good news is, the suit gives its wearer infinite stamina. The bad news… it’s unstable, which is what causes the explosion when you stop running.
Typically, I stay away from “runner” or “surfer” games. They’re a dime a dozen, endlessly supplied for free online and are a tired concept. When I saw this one though, I was drawn in by how clean it looked. For starters, the art in this is just nice. Your character has a cycle of sprites that create a fun feeling of flying through the air, and the pixel environments are pleasantly detailed. The anime art for the characters that gets splashed on the menus and loading screens is pretty sweet too, feeling like a mix between Megaman and Cyborg 009.
The core play of the game is pretty good as well, even for a runner. What is often the problem with a runner game? Monotony. Eventually, after you’ve reached your limit, you’ll look at the screen and realize that for the past 10 minutes, you’ve played and died 8 times without actually paying attention to anything you’ve been doing. This game features a great ebb and flow mechanic that switches things up while simultaneously giving you a breather. Every so often there are “safe zones” where you hit a flat stretch of ground. During this time (plotwise) the Doc analyzes what’s ahead of you and gives you two powerups that will allow you to overcome it. The R.O.D. suit is a prototype though, so taking these powerups overwrites the two old ones the suit speeds up. So, by switching between 5 powerups, getting a short break while the switchup occurs and then rocking the speed boost is a great way to keep this game fresh and fair as you play it.
There are also a set of challenges for those who want more of a milestone to hit, ranging from Easy to Hard. You can also download Steam Workship challenges, although I’m surprised there aren’t more of them (only 17 as of today). While this isn’t the kind of game I would want to play for hours on end, it’s a great quick jump-in Tier 1 title for when you have a bit of time to kill on something simple but fun.
