When I met with the team from 13AM Games at Gamescom to see Runbow, one idea really resonated with me.
When I met with the team from 13AM Games at Gamescom to see Runbow, one idea really resonated with me. To nearly every question that I asked of the developers, they began their response with something along the lines of: “well, players asked for ___, so we wanted to include it in the game to make them happy.” Trying to fulfill the requests of the players can often be overwhelming, especially for a small indie development studio like 13AM. Nevertheless, the team delivered a game that goes above and beyond anything I could expect from such a small developer. Runbow is a game chock-full of content, and one that raises the bar for all future multiplayer-centric titles.
What is Runbow? Well, at its core Runbow is a platformer. Players try to stay alive by jumping from platform to platform. There is a twist, though. The color of the background is always changing. If the color of the platform matches up with the color of the background, then the platform disappears and becomes virtually nonexistent until the background changes once again. The developers took this simple, yet unique, formula, and twisted it in so many different ways that each stage and mode feel incredibly unique.
At its best, Runbow is played locally with a bunch of friends. The game supports up to nine players at once, the most of any Wii U game released thus far, and nearly every controller supported by the Wii U works with it (bar the Gamecube controller and DK Bongos). In fact, you can connect a Nunchuck to a standard Wiimote, giving the Wiimote to one player and the Nunchuck to another. If it’s a controller that has a connection to the Wii U in some way, then it probably works with Runbow.
With nine players, or even two or three, the game stands out as one of the most fun experiences on the Wii U released. Although I feel that games such as Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros are excellent games to play at a party, they oftentimes require a large amount of concentration or analytics. Runbow, on the other hand, is the perfect party game. No doubt the game can be difficult at times, but with short 20-30 second rounds, players have more than ample opportunity to sling obscenities, insults, and maybe a complement or two at each other. On the occasions that I was playing Runbow with others locally, the game was at its very best, in my mind the pinnacle of “fun” on the Wii U.
Many multiplayer-centric games are incredibly fun to play with others, but fall into a trap when a player wants to play alone. The developers put so much work into making local multiplayer fun, that they forget the realities of single-player and online gameplay that have become prevalent in the current gaming landscape. Fortunately, Runbow is not one of the games that falls into this trap.
Runbow has three multiplayer modes: Run, Arena, and King of the Hill. Each and every one of these modes can be played online with strangers, or in an online party with your friends. This online mode was particularly surprising, as it works more efficiently than almost any online game Nintendo has put out. I never experienced any lag when playing the game, and matchmaking (at least during party play) was quick and easy. Unfortunately, there is no voice chat in Runbow, so friends will have to use third-party applications, such as Skype, in order to swear at each other over the internet.
As for the modes themselves: in the Run mode, players are all racing one another to get to the end of a level. There are no respawns, so once you die, you are done for the round. Usually, these matches are played in sets of 10 rounds. The person with the most round wins will get the title of the champion. Arena is somewhat like a Runbow version of Super Smash Bros. There is an all-out fight to the death, with players trying to knock each other out of the map, while avoiding various environmental hazards. The final mode, King of the Hill, is exactly what it sounds like. Players try to hold down a piece of the map for as long as they can. King of the Hill is personally the only mode I dislike. The mode is simply too long and tedious. Fortunately, players can choose which mode they like to play on, so those that do not like King of the Hill can choose to skip it entirely.
Outside of the competitive multiplayer modes, there is also an adventure mode. This adventure mode can be played completely alone, or with up to nine players as with the competitive modes. Adventure mode acts as Runbow’s “campaign mode.” Obviously, the more players that are playing, the easier it can be to complete a level, as only one player needs to make it to the end of the level in order to complete it. The sheer size of Runbow’s campaign content is impressive. With more than 140 levels, many of them packing quite the challenge, Runbow’s campaign can take players hours upon hours to see everything. The levels themselves are very well designed, with each level packing a new mechanic, experience, or challenge. The game truly emits the “just one more level” feeling. Unfortunately, I did experience some technical hiccups within Runbow’s adventure mode. I frequently experienced dropped frames while playing, and magically appearing on platforms that I didn’t recall actually jumping to. These technical errors were not necessarily destructive, as I still had the ability to complete levels I needed. However, the technical issues were somewhat distracting, and I even died a few times as a direct result of skipped frames.
The other major mode of Runbow is the Bowhemoth mode. This mode acts as one huge level, broken up into several smaller sub-levels. The goal of the Bowhemoth is to complete all the parts of the single level as quickly as possible. This can take anywhere from 45 minutes to several hours depending on the player’s ability level. For the true masters out there, the Bowhemoth is there for you to conquer.
What I really love about Runbow is the sheer amount of effort that went into making the game full of character and energy. The music, for example, is incredible. Although most developers usually opt out of including jazz in their games, due to the difficulty of tying it well into the gameplay, the jazzy soundtrack within Runbow is spectacular and just feeds the party theme. I was consistently impressed whenever hearing a new tune from the soundtrack; I just wish that there were a few more songs to round out the experience.
The developers also added so many small nuances to make the Runbow experience as funny and enjoyable as possible. For example, after every death, the game makes a humorous remark at the expense of the player. For example, the game has told me such phrases as…
“My grandmother beat that level”
“I think you are supposed to jump”
“This time try to complete the level”
These sarcastic comments are hysterical, especially in the heat of an especially challenging level. Another nice touch are the various titles that the developers assign players at the end of multiplayer matches. For example, a player can get a funny title for dying the most, running the longest, or taking the most punches. Hell, the developers even included a “Fun Level” selector, instead of a difficulty level selector. Players can select to play a very fun game, an incredibly fun game, or any other of the “Fun Levels” the developers have included.
The developers also included a breadth of achievements for players to snag. The achievements cover all sorts of gameplay aspects of the game, and are often awarded for some of the most random actions. Every time a player unlocks an achievement, they unlock an additional character to play as. Impressively, the developers recruited several other Indies to bring in a robust lineup of indie guest characters for players to unlock. Players can play as some of their favorite indie characters, including Shovel Knight, Rusty, and Mighty Gunvolt.
Overall, Runbow is easily one of the best indie titles currently available on the Wii U, and the single best local multiplayer game I have played on the console. What really sets Runbow apart though isn’t just its multiplayer gameplay, but its plethora of modes, innovative level design, charm, and overall gaming excellence.
Written by Elia Pales
Elia Pales owns pretty much every single product Nintendo puts out, and due to his impulsive tendencies, he also tends to purchase every gaming product put out in general. When not gaming, he’s probably running cross country or writing. He makes sure to take regular gaming breaks, though.
You can follow Elia on Twitter: @Paleselan
Pros: Best local multiplayer on Wii U Brimming with personality Great level design Online play
Cons: There are some frame drops in adventure mode
Final Score: / 10
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