They Always Run

But never far

Thinking back to this year's E3 event, it's hard not to shake the idea that the AAA scene were the big 'losers' of the pot, because beside a couple of standouts every single big budget 'wow' game either didn't hit as hard as they should have, ultimately let us down on the reveal or were just plain AWOL from the event entirely. Of course, I acknowledge that this is about as much of a 'loser' one can be when they're getting the biggest gaming stage in the world to advertise their game, that's pretty much a guaranteed launch day break-even, but with the scatter-gun style approach to game reveals that we're doing nowadays you'd think a few more hits would have people salivating from the mouth. Instead, it was really the few lucky indie games that managed to make the big stage who made the most of their fifteen minutes with some genuinely impressive little trailers. I remember a lot of them much more then I remember any of the things announced at the Gearbox Event. (Oh right, that's because the only thing Gearbox announced was Godfall DLC. Time to rebury all memories tied to that event back into the 'to be shredded' cabinet.) Take one title who's name has been bouncing around my head for a while know; They Always Run.

Such a great name; simple, hokey, fun, why can't the big developers ever nail just a name with that kind of basic innate appeal? It doesn't need to sound cutting edge or super cool and hip, just make me interested and want to play the thing, maybe even make me smile a little just to read it. (I know I'm getting off track but bare with me.) Take that Assassin's Creed game which was just announced: Infinity, oh you mean like the Bioshock game, why am I not surprise that Ubisoft flounders at even the challenge of making original subtitles? Or what about the upcoming Halo. Infinite, again. Are you being serious? Are AAA developers screwing with us? Then on the otherside of the isle you've got games like Lovers in a dangerous Spacetime. Do you have any idea what that's about? Unless you've played it probably not, but it was enough to get me through the door and I loved the game. (Even if I was clearly unprepped for a game built for local co-op) They Always Run might not be quite as gimmicky as Asteroid Base's one-hit wonder, but it was born from the same heart.

Anyway, I heavily digress, They Always Run is a 2D Sci-fi platformer where you play a cyborg with a sword and a slicing disorder; that's probably the synopsis for a hundred other games on the market today, but none of them came across my eye at E3 whilst looking quite so pretty. A lot of the other 2D indie games that where here this E3 utilised the Bravely Default style of animation, with 2D sprites on a 3D background, and whilst that inarguably looks sumptuous; it loses that special spark once you've seen it on the fourth game this year alone. I found myself wanting something more traditional, which usually means going to those retro-themed games that go heavy on the pixels. They Always Run, however, features sleek smooth sprites across lovingly painted backgrounds and, as is becoming the calling card of a lot of these slashers that swoon me over, smooth as heck animations.

Looking upon the synopsis I was slightly amused at the curious similarity the raw setting had to a particular pop-culture phenonium which has taken the world of late. A certain spin-off to a long running franchise which has, in it's quality, far eclipsed the source material into becoming one of the most beloved of it's kind. It's also a product which hasn't even been touched upon in the gaming world yet for whatever stupid reason, so whether these similarities are intentional or otherwise, I can see this game scratching an itch for somefolk out there. For starters, this Sci-Fi adventure is set in a galaxy reeling from the recent fall of The Empire, (Okay...) for which lawlessness has run rampant across the fringe worlds. Opening up the way for a three armed robot-thing called Aidan to strike it rich as a bounty hunter. (Oh, and the Star Wars influences are literally dripping off of these screenshots. That Tunisian-style sand town even has Jawa-looking creeps in it, there's no hiding it.)

Whatever, it's a simple premise for a straightforward game about stalking colourful environments and cutting down huge criminals with style whilst bopping to snythy fun beats that almost belie the obvious western influences lying in the heart of this game. This is one of those games where the name of the game is all about style, and personally I've been simply digging ever single micro-fibre of what I've been seeing thusfar. I love the poncho for our three armed antagonist that sways in motion to literally everything he does be it slide, swing or jump, creating this accentuating wake to the fluid motions that borders on straight cinematic when coupled with the slow-mo. I love the intractability with the elements of the environment whereupon the player can choose to grab objects and chuck them at badguys, a way to make the background matter which so few games try for nowadays. And most of all I love the cutthroat speed of everything that elevates that sense of death being a mere misclick away, somewhat similar to the vibe of Ghostrunner.

I think that was it is that draws me to 'smaller' titles like this one, is the way in which they spit in the face of the modern AAA design landscape and their desire to try and "do everything". One particular recent openworld game whom I shall refrain from naming because they take-up way too much name drops across this blog as it is, is famous for this. Trying to be the best at exploration, world design, breathing environments, all the inbetween. That's what has kept Star Citizen in early access since the intention of the wheel and it haunts modern Ubisoft games across the board. Usually it leads to games that are spread too thin and thus end up being mediocre to passable in everything they try, as opposed to titles like this that pick their niche and be the best in that field that they possibly can be. This here is a fast-paced bloody action-slasher, and from the presentation of the trailer alone you can tell this team have put their soul into nailing that demographic.

I think that may be partially why the modern renaissance of 2D platformers has carried on next to totally unabated by all the evolution of the industry whilst newer modern trends have come and gone. Heck, I remember platformers coming back into relevance when Survival Games were still all the rage, just recall the fervour over 2014's Shovel Knight! The genre makes a perfect settling grounds for games that don't overcomplicate themselves and can specialise, and whatsmore you can plant pretty much any other genre of action title into a 2D space without losing the charm. Stealth action is present in Mark of the Assassin, rouge-like shooting is exemplified by Risk of Rain, there's even a decent amount of really well made and unique Souls-like 2D platformers that are simply fantastic. (I'm currently playing 'Salt and Sanctuary' but I'd be remiss not to recommend 'Blasphemous')

So whilst the AAA publishers and developers are tripping over themselves to disappoint themselves and their audience with more titles shown off whole orders of magnitude too early, I'm glad the E3 event still has time (albeit not much) for the real stars of the show that make up the price of admission a lot of the time. They may not be the titles that get the crowds through the door, and won't ever appear on the large billboards (I don't even know if E3 does those billboards anymore, I suspect not) but for me at least they're the games that worm under my skin and keep me up at night getting all excited for them. (Whatsmore, these games don't cost the GDP of a small country either. Sheesh.)