Im 32 years old and have played games since I was under 10.

This is one of the best games that I have seen in my life. EVER. Everything that a great game should be. Simplicity, reflexes and high level play. Believe me when I play games I break them down to the core to find all exploits.

Absolutely amazing and I would have happily paid 20 quid for it.

I think this despite owning Mario Galaxy 2 and playing some of the all time classics ever, Snatcher, Shenmue, Lunar, Zelda OOT, Outrun 2, Virtua Fighter series, SSF2x, R Type etc..... I really hold this game up with those ones.

Long may this excellent series continue. SHMUP next in the series please.

A beautiful game that I will be playing for years.

A Bit Trip SHUMP is a very good idea for the next one.

There is a only a year between us, and I too have been playing games that long.

I really hated Runner, I found it so easy and simplistic that there was no fun to be found at all. It wasn't a game in my eyes, just a glorified memory test set to a rhythm. It took next to no skill for me to whizz through to 3-3 before refusing to continue with such a vacuous experience. 1-10, 1-11, and the level 1 boss made me concentrate slightly, but the rest of it felt so mindless. At times I was playing it with my subconscious and not even paying attention. Which is a shame, as the visuals and audio were amazing.

Your comments (and many others around here) astonish me.

Everyones different mate.

This game is like an experience and depending on the person they may not appreciate it for what it is based on the criteria of what they judge a good game.

For what this game is it accomplishes it to near perfection. I tried to play mario galaxy last night but couldnt get off this. Will be trying later to get a perfect score on the odyssey level.

This is not the only game that I will play for the rest of my life (true) as I am still playing other games, Afterburner Climax for example trying to break into the top 10 on the leaderboards, Tatsunoko Vs Capcom still trying to master the Tatsunoko players for 30 hit combos.

Just saying for me its a 10/10 and ill spread the word.

Fair play mate.

You're in luck! Because Bit.Trip Void is already that! (Okay, I admit it's not a SHMUP in the traditional sense, but you still dodge bullets and such.)

Well, yours astonish me Machu, I mean what is any platforming game like Mario or Mega Man, but a memorisation of enemy patterns or jumps in order to bypass various obstacles? RUNNER really boils it down to the essentials by not giving players control over character direction or speed. I actually find that to be a good thing because there's still the aspect of trying to figure out the best way to get all the gold on various levels without worrying about the other crap you normally do in a platform game.

I won't go into any detail because I don't believe in talking out of class, but I had to fight for that 10/10 and I did because I think the game really deserves it.

Well done Sean as you know your stuff. Its fully deserved as well, a beautiful game.

This game should really have an arcade release.

@outrun2sp: Yeah I know, each to their own. I loaded it up with anticipation, had a real geek moment as it began, then it all fell apart for me a few levels in.

If I sound frustrated, it's not with those who enjoyed the game so much, more, I just want to understand why my feelings toward the game are so different to pretty much everyone else. Very strange. :/

@Sean: I though exactly that whilst playing. This is like any other 2D platformer before it. The only difference being that you are forced through the level at a set-speed, with no chance to stop and think, and no chance to increase the speed through easier sections. This, I think, is where I found the monotony. There is no variation between attempts.

Just ignore me (as I'm sure you will).

_{apologies for ranting, in what was intended as a 'love thread'}

Hmm. I still don't know. IGN says:
"A simple on-rails platformer that doesn't play nice. Runner is often more frustrating than fun."
and
"How challenging do you prefer your games to be? If you answered "maddeningly challenging to the point that I want to smash my controller and hunt down the families of the developers," then Bit.Trip Runner is the game for you."

Seems to be a bit difficult and frustrating, right?

All I can say about those IGN quotes is that I tried to play Super Mario Bros. 3 and I got bruises on my thighs from pounding my fists in frustration at endless deaths (I'm not a controller-throwing kind of guy, but a self-abuser when I get frustrated) and swearing profusely, but that NEVER happened with this game. As I say in the review I think it has to do with the prompt level restart which doesn't really leave time for that kind of self-indulgence. I might get off one swear before I had to focus on playing again and after awhile it would just be a sharp intake of breath at almost reaching the end of the level. There's also definitely a sense that "it can be done by a normal human being" - now that may be a charitable description of myself, but I definitely don't have the reflexes required to win a Super Mario Galaxy shadow race, so I figure if I can beat level 1-11 in RUNNER, then probably most people can, if they put in the effort.

It also helps to take the Bit.Trip games generally in the spirit of the early 8-bit era where the majority of games were effectively endless loops that got steadily more difficult. In fact I commented to Alex at Gaijin that by having endings and boss battles, they've probably set the wrong expectation for many gamers who don't really remember what it was like before it became standard for all games to be "beatable" and have endings. It's possible that one of the next Bit.Trip games will not have this "feature" - I can only hope! In any event I don't play these game expecting to "win," so being really difficult doesn't bother me. I don't feel any sense of entitlement which makes unlocking the next level/song that much more rewarding. It's something I can plug away at and maybe, before I die, I'll have beaten all of them, but even if I don't I'm happy to have played these fun games.

I understand what you mean. There seem to be two kinds of gamers. Those who want to beat their games and see the ending, no matter the cost and those who don't care about beating any game. I remember only too well those games where the only point was to reach a higher score than before. But this never intrigued me for very long, so I count me to the first type.

BTW: Have you finished the game yet?

Omega:
Runner is indeed frustrating at times, and is hard as nails. But, then again, the whole Bit.Trip series is (Void less so, but that's another story). They're right to point that out, but I don't see that as a drawback at all. In fact, this extraordinarily high challenge level is one of Bit.Trip's main selling points to me (and others) who think games have gotten way too forgiving over the years.

In other words, it's not a bug. It's a feature.

Be serious. I haven't even completed the second level in BEAT or CORE yet!

BTR is rightfully difficult as its paying homage to the games of the 80's that had similar unforgiving difficulty.

Im glad its not easy like Tomena Sanner.

Yeah, like @Machu I've played most of this game with my subconscious. Compared to other platformers it's less skill-intensive because you're running at a set speed and only have to tap buttons at a certain time. Obviously memorization is key in pretty much every other video game out there, but I found it excessively so in Runner, and that disappointed me.

That doesn't change the fact that I've had a lot of fun playing it, despite being annoyed with the cheap shots it takes in later levels.

I'm on 3-10, by the way.

@Chicken and Sean: i actually found BEAT to be the easiest Bit. Trip (i've yet to get RUNNER, though i'm dying to). I beat it pretty soon after getting it and adored it. I can't beat the second level of CORE, though, or of VOID... CORE i see as the hardest, with VOID very close behind... both of them have proven at least twice as tough as BEAT for me... maybe i'm just nuts, though.

It tests a lot more than memory. There's rhythm, reflex, coordination, and perhaps the most distinguishing skill tested by Bit Trip in general: being able to overcome the visual overload and discern the meaningful objects from the distractions at a moment's notice. If the game were pure memory, we'd be playing with our eyes closed after a few attempts.

And games are not always pure challenge. The joy of Bit Trip is derived from the synthesis of light, sound, and player action. No game approaches Runner's success in this area.

Tomena Sanner isn't about just making it through, it's about getting your name someplace on the leaderboards and pwning the competition, lol. when you're doing your best to beat the guy ahead of you, it can be a lot of fun :3

that said, Uncle 'Chu, i'm tellin' you -- I feel the same way you do about Runner when it comes to Void. i find it pretty awesome that there seems to be at least something in the series for everyone... you may love one game to pieces, but hate another. :3

I agree... it's the best Bit game in the series yet, although I haven't played the third one. It also had 90 on metacritic and dropped to 80+ after several strange reviews. Truly another WiiWare masterpiece. I'm hoping for a balance board Bit

Oh my, Balance Board Bit Trip... that never occurred to me.