They Always Run [Xbox]
Developed by Alawar and published by Plug In Digital, They Always Run is a fast-paced 2D action-platformer. You play as a bounty hunter known as Aiden, who is a ‘three-arm’ - a mutant that happens to have a third arm that proves to be more than just a little beneficial in combat. You have an energy meter that determines your use of your third arm, which can be controlled with RT and the right stick in order to break enemies’ blocks, as well as to destroy breakable power nodes and walls.
You’ve got a Hunter Scanner which can be used to scan your environment to find these hidden power nodes, as well as to identify criminals with a bounty on their heads. There’s one in particular, Billy Steeljaw, who is your main target after some past interactions and you’ll do anything to track him down. Working through bounties such as The Rat to other villains, trying to piece together Billy’s movements, and track him down for good. Bigger targets require you to carry them back to your ship for delivery to the customers that have raised the bounty - whereas smaller targets (the ones you’ll pick up on your radar) can be teleported by pressing up on the D-pad, using an experimental new technology that has a 50-50 chance of flipping their bodies inside out and turning them into soup.
There’s a real fluidity to the movement in They Always Run that feels truly satisfying, and the level of badassery you can accomplish by perfectly timing your counter-attacks is equally as awesome. Having an extra arm helps in the midst of combat, with you being able to take down multiple enemies with ease - and look great whilst doing it. Climbing around the environments feels very parkour-ish, and adds another satisfying layer to getting around - especially once you add the harpoon to the mix.
Combat is fast, with most enemies being able to be wiped out in a flurry of melee attacks or with a quick, sharp gunshot - which feels equally as deadly as it does impressive - but boss fights are far more nuanced, requiring a bit more forethought and recognising their attack patterns in order to deal with them. They also have a Consciousness meter in addition to their health bar, and this is used to either knock them out temporarily to get in a chunk of damage whilst they’re out cold, or it can be so you can deliver the target alive rather than dead.
With a scratchy, paint like appearance, They Always Run has a uniquely gorgeous art style with magnificent use of lighting and shadow to make the character pop, both in darkened areas and against brightly lit backgrounds where you become almost silhoutte-like, and in areas with glowing lights that highlight the details on your cloak and weaponry. Composed by Deallry, the soundtrack is extremely well done, with western sounding tracks as well as more intense, rockier themes mixed with electronic beats- all of which were good enough to listen to even outwith the game!
Aside from the stimpacks you’ll pick up in order to replenish health - with extra slots for these becoming available over time - and cyberheart pieces that will permanently increase your health by 25% for every three you locate, there’s not really much in the way of collectibles - which would have given a fun little thing to keep an eye out for. The stuff you do find does tend to be in big ammo chest style boxes, but having a wider variety of these containing other collectibles, or even cool items to find hidden in areas (but not contained in chests) would have added a bit extra.
There is an ‘Upgrades’ system available from the shop that will allow you to purchase new and upgraded weaponry as well as ammo, and various other improvements to your skills such as more powerful combat techniques, both melee and ranged, which does encourage you to build up your credits in order to make Aiden as powerful as you can. If you’re looking for a game with an interesting story and fast-paced combat to give you a good run for your money, then They Always Run can be picked up for £16.74 on the Xbox Store.
In the end, we decided to give They Always Run the Collecting Asylum rating of 8.5/10.
Are you interested in They Always Run? What do you think of it?
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- V x
Thank you to Plug In Digital for the They Always Run Xbox review code!
