Mr. Run And Jump Review – The Rewards Of Repetition

As someone who grew up primarily in the 1990s, I’ve played more than my fair share of 2D platformers. With those decades of experience, it’s no surprise that I consider myself a relatively strong platforming player. However, despite its precise controls, Mr. Run and Jump’s challenging, neon-bathed obstacle courses and hard-to-reach collectibles had me second-guess my skills at every step.

Mr. Run and Jump, originally a Atari 2600 homebrew game, errs to the side of simplicity in its gameplay. Mr. Run & Jump is also able to perform wall-jumps and lunges in midair. He can also do high and double jumps. This unassuming move set works in concert, allowing players to perform intricate combinations as they navigate the game’s many difficult rooms.

Venturing deeper into the game’s 20-level main campaign, I quickly started chaining these traversal options to impressive results. Due to the tight control, I was able to perform an immediate high jump followed by a wall leap, gain additional distance to avoid an obstacle or land on a platform using my double-jump. The experience is truly magical when these moments occur, and it makes me feel like I am unstoppable. The moments of success come at a high price.

A keen mastery of every move in the hero’s arsenal is necessary to make it far in each multi-room stage. The difficulties increased as my skill level improved. In the beginning, there were spiked walls and enemies that you could predict. These quickly changed to obstacles meant to trip people up. In the subsequent worlds I came across enemies who dash ahead the instant you land. Mosquitoes move in lightning fast patterns. And even predators disguised as spikes in the ground that jump out and eat you when you are too close. These enemies often have predictable patterns, and learning how each one interacts with you is crucial, particularly in the game’s optional challenge rooms.

Due to the ever-growing list of enemies, and because you can die with just one blow, Mr. Run & Jump demands a great deal of you. It requires you to have lightning-fast reflexes, strong improvisational skills, and the patience of a saint. It was difficult to see how I’d be able to get around the different obstacles in some rooms. In the event that you are hit by an enemy, you instantly respawn back at the beginning of the level. In longer rooms I often found myself cursing and grunting as I failed to complete the room.

In lieu of a boss fight at the end of each world, you must instead traverse The Void, a culminating series of platforming challenges with an ever-encroaching wall that ensures you don’t have much time to consider how to navigate the sequences. The Void levels bring all the elements of the game to that stage to give you the most adrenaline-pumping moments. Although their speedy nature often leads to test-and-error gameplay instead of deliberate platforming, I always enjoyed nailing these levels.

The game will offer you a temporary power-up of invincibility or a checkpoint in the middle of a room if you fail to complete the level. But that made me even more determined to finish it and feel the thrill. Accepting the help will deactivate the collectibles that are required to unlock the last challenge, the incredibly difficult Dark World with five levels.

The challenges in Mr. Run & Jump are not as simple at first glance, and you will be screaming with frustration before you can shout in victory. Though the trial-and-error style of each difficult room sometimes wore on me, after each success, I couldn’t wait to see what hurdles I needed to clear next.