The Bit.Trip series has generally mixed rhythm game play, ’neo-retro’ style graphics, and one other random genre. This time around they opted to go with a 2D platformer, and while it does have some frustrating moments Bit.Trip Runner is pretty fun on the whole. You control a vaguely Atari-era blob of pixels that looks like a person as it runs, jumps, slides, and otherwise deals with a variety of obstacles set to a variety of ’chiptune’ music; do well and you’ll enjoy some nice sounds... but if you mess up you’ll have to try again.

While the graphics suggest it’s primarily a platformer, this isn’t quite true; you move at the pace of the music and cannot slow down, so there is more emphasis on the rhythm aspect. You have a little over thirty stages to play through, each lasting anywhere from several seconds to several minutes depending on how quickly you clear them without any mistakes. Each stage is full of obstacles, and most of them can only be solved by one particular move... the challenge lies in quickly identifying which one to use, and then adapting to the next move the game will require you to do. This starts off as just jumping over things or sliding under them at first, but as you play you gain new abilities such as a kick (only useful against solid barriers), a spring-jump (only useful when the appropriate board is under your feet), and a shield (which reflects specific projectiles only).

Each stage will rapidly call on you to alternate between all these, and do so in correct rhythm with the music. There is little room for error or improvising your own solution, so Bit.Trip Runner merely looks like a 2D platformer; it isn’t truly one. However it has no problem borrowing both the best and worst about stage layouts from that genre, often exciting you with a rapidly changing mix of obstacles set to excellent music. On the other hand it also has no problem forcing you to make extremely precise jumps, and if you make even a single mistake you will be sent all the way back to the beginning of the stage. This would be more of a problem if each level were longer, but thankfully only a few levels are both hard enough and long enough that this would cause any real problems.

Bit.Trip Runner tries to lay on a modernized retro charm; the graphics are in the same style as Atari 2600 games albeit more modern (especially in the stage backgrounds), and are joined by music that likewise follows that very old style but uses some modern arrangement to fit the game’s rhythm elements better. And if you do particularly well in a normal level, you will be sent to a bonus stage that is clearly a tribute to some of Activision’s platforming games of that early 80s era, so fans of this ’neo-retro’ motif should be pleased.

It should be noted that Bit.Trip Runner is a pretty hard game. There are a few levels you will reasonably beat on your first try, and several that will take just a few attempts. On the other hand, many levels could take upward of a dozen tries, and there are a few that could take upward of fifteen to twenty minutes to complete. Those stages will likely have you using foul language and debating throwing your controller into the wall, just like the old days! Thankfully such levels are rare, and most of the others fall into being reasonably challenging but not ridiculously hard.

While certainly a short game that will only last you a few hours, this is fair enough given Bit.Trip Runner only costs 600 Points ($6). It’s certainly a good way to occupy an evening, and if you enjoyed previous titles in this series or don’t mind taking on a rather challenging game then you’ll do well to play this one.