Game Review: Run, Sheldon! the cartoony but inventive endless runner

Run, Sheldon!

Bee Square

Free on Apple iOS

Run, Sheldon! is yet another endless runner but Bee Square have done it right here.

The story goes that Sheldon won the hare versus tortoise race and now the Old Hare (aka the Godfather) wants the trophy back.  So Sheldon is continuously running from Bad Bunnies who line the paths waiting to punch his lights out (so violent!).

He avoids the bunnies, collects coins and abilities to help him on his run by jumping, landing on hare’s heads knocks them for six, double tapping makes Sheldon jump higher, and various abilities include being inside a bouncing bubble and having wings.

If you run into a hare, Sheldon can be resurrected by using coins – the more this happens, the more expensive resurrection is.  The pleasant surprise here was that you collect a LOT of coins, and in-game purchases are spaced out very evenly, so you never feel like the game is trying to pry open your wallet.

The animations are very cute and Sheldon’s chuckles when he successfully bashes a rabbit are pretty entertaining.  However, they are very ‘Disney’ cartoony, which initially made me think the game was for kids.

The game changes scenery and introduces new features, such as new abilities, jumps or environments, frequently, which keeps the endless runner engaging, so it’s a good option for your next Tube ride or bus trip.

The game also introduces different kinds of hazards, like running water which speeds Sheldon up, bunnies who hide in the ground but bite you as you run past, ninja hares marked by black tipped ears that leap into the air and kick you, dragon style,  the list continues – it’s certainly a list of inventive mayhem.

My main quibble is that the controls, while responsive, don’t allow for much control once Sheldon has jumped, which means you can’t land faster to hit hares, and if you are about to land straight into a hare, you can’t stop it.  The game also heats up your phone – not in a worrying sense, but my iPhone definitely got warm and the processor is certainly working.  This seems to be the norm with games, however, and is not necessarily a reflection on Run, Sheldon!

However, the game is free, has great animation and is an inventive take on the endless runner genre.