Overview – developed by Khud0 and published by Eastasiasoft, Run Bean Galactic is an endless runner where an astronaut must survive a deadly planet by running around the diminutive globe. Take on a randomised challenge and try to survive for as long as possible, with online leaderboards to compete worldwide. This title is available on all console platforms with a link to each version at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of Run Bean Galactic used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. I will be skipping the story segment as there is no real plot to this release, so I will be going straight into discussing the gameplay.
Gameplay – this title is a simple yet challenging endless runner, with the sole objective being to survive as long as possible. To achieve this objective, the player must run in circles around the surface of the planet, avoiding hazards and reacting to sudden direction changes. The hazards of this inhospitable planet will kill the player instantly if contact is made with them, which are made up of spikes and traps that the player must avoid.
In order to get past the traps of this hostile planet, the player must jump the spikes and roll under the traps. There are also keys that must be collected to open gates, as well as bombs and direction change gates. The score will increase periodically as they travel around the surface of the planet, with bonus points as stars that can be collected when they appear on the stage.
The player has a single life and if they make contact with any of the hazards, the game is over and the highest score will be recorded and added to the global rankings. Due to this titles random nature, there is virtually limitless replay value for players, challenging themselves to get the highest possible score that they can.
There is also a simple customization system for players to change the look of their astronaut. With each run of the game, the player will accumulate points that they can use to unlock costumes for the character. There aren’t many costumes to unlock, but they do provide something nice for players to add a little variety to their gameplay experience.
Now with the gameplay covered, I will be moving onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – this title uses a very simple two button system, as the game is an auto runner with the movement controlled by the game itself. The jump and roll buttons are duplicated on both sides of the controller, allowing players to choose the most comfortable way to play the game for themselves. This title is comfortable regardless of the control methods used.
Difficulty – as this is a title that uses randomized elements, there is a fluctuating difficulty curve to this release. As the speed increases, there is a chance for players to encounter very difficult obstacle patterns, but it is just as likely for an easy pattern to occur. This can be frustrating for players, as there is always the chance for repeated failure when getting used to the game.
Presentation – this title has a very minimalist design to it, with only a single screen for all of the assets that are used. This makes for an easy to pick up title that anyone can get into with little difficulty. The sound is as simple as the visuals which compliment the overall package that the game provides, creating a cohesive gameplay experience.
Final Thoughts – Run Bean Galactic is a rather basic title that has a lot of gameplay value for the very modest budget. The gameplay is simple yet satisfying, with the score based focus of the title offering almost endless replay value for all players. I can easily recommend this title to everyone, as the challenge of this title is simple to get to grips with, but can take a lot of time to get a good rhythm for good scores.
In the end, I give Run Bean Galactic a final score of 4/5. This is a rather simple title, with a challenge that is easy to pick up and play, yet is hard to master as the randomly generated hazard patterns make the difficulty fluctuate. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
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