They are always running is the closest I’ve come to fulfilling my dream of becoming a galactic bounty hunter. It’s a 2D platformer with two distinct halves in its gameplay. Part is a rewarding parkour simulator and the other part is a heavy visceral combat system that I never got tired of. You play as a three-armed mutant named Aiden as he hops between planets to collect bonuses, represented through a series of linear levels of the action player. It almost never goes as planned. The title is pretty accurate.
Bounty chasing is one of the best parts of the game. You move freely which preserves your speed as you jump or fall between platforms, and there’s a button to help get past smaller objects in your way. It becomes an execution test, all about trying to press buttons in the most efficient way possible. It also really helps you get into the role of Aiden. If he were this awesome galactic bounty hunter, he would have absolutely perfected his way in the game, wouldn’t he? It reminds me a lot of Katana Zero or Hotline Miami, in that every time I slip and make a mistake, I always want to restart so I can find the cleanest path.
Fighting in They Always Run also borrows this philosophy. You start with a basic three-hit combo, counterattack and dodge. The special ingredient, though, is Aiden’s third arm. It pierces through enemy defenses and shields as if they were nothing, and it feels lifelike every time you use it. You have to push the club right in the direction you want to swing his arm. It’s like firing an extremely responsive slingshot every time, right on winding and back.
For some reason, his arm is a finite resource, and you can only build on its sin by fending off enemies. I love that Alawar Premium developers did this; it forces you to use every tool in your kit. I started out wanting to just use my basic attack and my third arm, but having to use everything makes you think more creatively.
I struggled with snipers from the beginning, as there were always tons of guards blocking the way. As I got more used to Aiden’s potential, I instinctively knew I had to dodge the guards, take out the sniper first, and come back. What I mean is, the game is unbelievable when it’s an Oldboy hallway simulator.
There’s a detailed story that underlies the game’s events, and it’s one that celebrates the genre’s clichés. I can’t say the story has become a classic for me, but it’s better than what it’s doing, and it carries each of its influences up its sleeve. Literally! The main character has a poncho shirt very similar to that of Clint Eastwood in The Man With No Name trilogy.
However, the dialogue in They Always Run deserves special mention, as it makes the whole experience very endearing. There’s a real back-and-forth between Aiden and his partner Jonathan, balancing a serious business tone with an insanely familiar one. They’re just trying to fulfill their bounty, but aren’t afraid to start calling each other about their bullshit. When this is at its best, it reminds me of the softer side of Cowboy Bebop. None of the characters in They Always Run are untouchable power fantasies. It’s more Jackie Chan, less Schwarzenegger.
“When the dialogue is at its best, it reminds me of the softer side of Cowboy Bebop.”
The bounty hunting structure gives the game a great pacing behind it. You progress gradually in the direction of the larger, overwhelming story, but at the same time on every level it feels like you’ve closed the book on a smaller chapter. They’re all filled with permanent puzzle pieces and events specific to each of them, and that adds to the quality of exploring that planet.
Art direction goes a long way in helping to uplift this feeling. I’m jumping from the neon pink world of dusty architecture, to overgrown scrap yards that have probably spent too much time unattended. There’s a painterly quality to everything, you can almost see the brushstrokes on the watercolor designs. Everything is handcrafted and it helps to prevent the cyberpunk society in They Always Run from becoming a completely lifeless astigmatism. The animation also shares this eye for detail; they are always extremely pleased while effectively conveying parts of Aiden’s personality through every gesture he makes.
But despite how many things they always run right, there’s a big asterisk that comes with trying to play it. You need to meet the game halfway. As much as I’ve enjoyed my time with it, They Always Run is pretty rough around the edges. It’s pretty buggy, and sometimes I get extremely confused as to whether failure is the game’s fault or my fault (usually both).
I’ve been playing They Always Run over a month after it came out, and based on feedback from other players, it seems like I’ve seen a fundamentally different version. Over the past few weeks, Alawar Premium has patched the game and changed the design to make the game less strenuous to play. It’s definitely still doable with more coats of polish, but I’ve never been disappointed. The version I played had a strong checkpoint system, was generous in placing them, and barely any load time from death to resurrection.
Though, what I never reconciled was the boss fights. Luckily, they are few and far between, but they completely rip apart everything the game is good at. They always outrun when you move fast and rip through huge groups of enemies like sheets of paper, but each boss traps you in a small room with a single enemy to fight. I’m glad they’re using the full health bar system in times like these, because you often need to boost your attacks to get through skirmishes. Collision detection isn’t very good at capturing accuracy, and (as you can guess from the game’s title), Aiden doesn’t quite like slow-moving.
For better or worse, there’s nothing quite like They Always Run. Whenever I can look through tons of bugs, I’m left with this gripping sci-fi action adventure. The game’s potential shines through with each crack and I really hope they make a sequel that builds on what they’ve done here. Please. Most space western fans are so starved that we’ll take anything good from afar.
