Official Score
Overall - 20%
20%
RGB Run takes a simple concept and makes it incredibly frustrating. What should have been a simple Simon Says-style game is filled with the brim with gimmicks designed to make you lose your cool.
Remember Milton Bradley’s timeless toy Simon? This instruction-based gameplay has made the jump to the world of video games in Pickle Drugs’ new title RGB RUN. Simon Says is a pretty simple game – does this chunk of plastic translate to an enthralling adventure?
RGB RUN Review
Players take control of a nameless protagonist who navigates a darkened hallway to thumping techno beats. Before venturing out, this character is given a number of different colors to memorize. Split between red, blue, and green, players will find three colored hallways that signify each of those colors. Those that walk through these hallways in the correct order can progress to the next level, while those that go the wrong way must do things over again. Your typical WASD and mouse first person setup is used, and though there are no extra bells and whistles like a run or duck button, what is here gets the job done. Rather, the only additional key available is the “R” button, which restarts things from the very beginning.
Things start out easy enough, with a fast moving wall full of spikes serving as a motivation to keep on your feet and keep moving. However, what could at first be cheesed with rote memorization (or a notepad) quickly becomes frustrating. The game will do everything in its power to make you screw things up. Changing the order of the colored hallways is just the start – later levels invert controls, flash the colors at the last second, or increases the speed of the wall behind the player. When there are more than five steps to keep track of at any given time, it soon proves to be a lot to manage.
It quickly becomes frustrating, and the way these challenges are arranged requires a new form of muscle memory to develop. The rules thrown at the player are completely arbitrary and are unclear until things are well underway – an unwelcome design choice. Successfully completing a level does not offer a sense of accomplishment, just a text blurb that says “go next.”
Those that make it through all 50 levels of the game will unlock a handful of achievements and nothing more. There is no leaderboard, scoring, or anything else to keep players running along. For those that memorized every trap and gotcha moment that this game throws at the player, repeat playthroughs take away from the surprise. Successfully completing all stages takes a little more than an hour, and though the low price tag reflects this, it still does not offer too much game for players to sink their teeth into.
RGB Run takes a simple concept and makes it incredibly frustrating. What should have been a simple Simon Says-style game is filled with the brim with gimmicks designed to make you lose your cool.
