Maroc - 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - Hier 05:05

The Run – Review

An FMV horror adventure game where choices matter. That is what Paul Raschid’s latest game, The Run is all about. Known for his other FMV games such as Hello Stranger and Five Dates, Raschid once again delivers a stunning and beautiful game where an influencer experiences the run of her life.  Story  We follow Zanna Hendricks, a fitness influencer, as she wakes up in a small rural town in Northern Italy. It’s quite evident she’s rather great at her job, given she just hit five million followers. After a small introduction, she goes for a run in the forest near the town, where strange things begin to occur. Without spoiling too much of the story already, let’s just say that Zanna will have the run of her life in this otherwise peaceful town. Soon, Zanna finds herself coming face to face with a group of masked killers, and it is up to the influencer, or rather the player, to make it back safe without succumbing to these ominous-looking people. Graphics  The game is essentially one big movie, and it is absolutely beautiful! Shot with beautiful cinematography and beautiful scenery imagery, The Run is not only a great game, but also a gorgeous one. Filmed in Northern Italy, the greenery and historical architecture really create a beautiful setting for this thrilling and exciting story we are about to witness. It is hard to speak of ‘character design’ in this type of game, but the portrayal of the characters is done very well. Roxanne McKee, known for her role as ‘Doreah’ in Game of Thrones, plays the lead. Her acting isn’t questionable at all; she made us roll our eyes early on, given her influencer persona. Then we have George Blagden as our deuteragonist, known for being in Vikings as Athelstan. He plays Zanna’s local hookup and local village boy. Both actors really carry the game well as they are met with various scenes of different emotions. Not once is there a less convincing moment they portray, all the way until the end. Aside from the beautiful cinematography, the game gives players the option to add in subtitles and edit their size, which can come in handy if you end up too focused mid-gameplay. Sound  The score in The Run is very fitting. There isn’t too much to be said about the score, as it’s mainly there to fill in the silent scenes. When Zanna is running away from something, for example, the music features intense chase music so that the player experiences the same adrenaline rush as our protagonist. We didn’t really miss the lack of soundtrack, however, as there is always something happening, or people are talking anyway. The score is meant to emphasize actions in scenes, rather than actually setting the mood for whatever is going on. Gameplay The game is an FMV horror thriller. This means that it is essentially a movie you watch, but you get to decide the choices the protagonist makes. These choices make the main character go on a different path (sometimes literally), which leads to more choices, and eventually an ending depending on what you decide to do. Let’s start with the good things, which are quite a lot. There are a lot of choices throughout the game, making replays possible to discover what you missed in a previous run. The game also really eases you into it, giving you simple choices very early on in the story. This way, the player gets familiar with the main controls of the game, without immediately suffering dire consequences. Now, when you do run into one of those dire consequences, players get a do-over and back up to where they made the wrong choice. By doing so, the game encourages players to explore all options without being punished too hard for it. You could opt for a run where you hunt for all bad endings and could still make progress throughout the story in doing so. Another pleasant feature the game adds is the option to make choices time-based or to pause the movie at every choice. This way, the game allows itself to be a party game so you can bicker over the options with your friends, without needing to worry about the game progressing on without you. Now, as for the bad, there isn’t too much to nitpick here, but there are certainly a few points to be discussed. Firstly, some choices the player gets presented with are rather questionable. Without giving any spoilers, there are a few choices in the game that have little to no impact. Furthermore, some are also very obviously the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ choices, leaving the player little to decide on. Though it isn’t problematic in any sense, we did find ourselves frowning once the choices were represented. Another thing we thought was a bit of a pity is that once the game is over, you get to see your progress on a map, showing off where your choices branched off into a different timeline. Sadly, there is no way to replay or view that specific choice again, as it is just an image of the scene where this option was presented. Not being able to rewatch these scenes means you must start all over again from the beginning to make new choices, instead of being able to jump from one point to another. Luckily, you can skip previously viewed scenes by using the ‘tab’ button, as not to waste too much time if you’re going for a full-clear.  Conclusion  If you are looking for a more laid-back horror game, or something to play with your friends, or simply want something ‘different’, The Run is a perfect choice for you. This horror adventure game is a pleasant experience to go through, and for the low price of only €10, we surely recommend getting the game on Steam, Google Play, or the App Store.