Run, gun, survive, then die and do it again in this great top-down, co-op shooter. Play as one of many characters from the Serious Sam, Hotline Miami, Enter the Gungeon, Nuclear Throne, and Shadow Warrior series.
General Gameplay
The game is a top-down shooter in which you are running backwards from the enemy. There is a level in which you shoot the enemies coming from the bottom of the screen, which collecting ammo, power ups and trying to survive till you get to a boss wave, from defeating the boss you go into another level and repeat the process. The Game Visuals believe it or not is very blocky in its style in ways it looks like a Roblox style of gameplay. The game visuals are shown in a top down style, so you are always aware of what is going on the screen. All the environments are destructible and the graphics from the characters to enemies, backgrounds and even bosses are details enough to see what on the screen is. As the game does not support a colorblind mode, however you can easily see the colors on the screen. One thing that we noticed is that in the game when two players are playing at the same time, the game does a great job in showing where each player is so they do not get lost in the game. The game is a shooter, but we did not see anything too violent in the game. The only thing visually was that when your character dies it is a cloud of red boxes/pixels, again nothing too serious. The Sound in I Hate Running Backwards is very shooter-ish in its sound. You get the guns shooting, the enemies screaming, and all other sound effects that you would hear in a shooter. All have its place in the game and sounds fantastic in the game itself making it feel alive. This comes into play as in the levels from the side there are enemies that will attach you from doing a dash and the audio que helps you hear when it is coming. Also, if you have played any of the games from the past series you will recognize the sounds from them as well. We did not get a chance to hear the game in a 5.1 surround sound setting but from our gaming headset and PC speakers the game sounded wonderful and very easy to follow. In our play testing, we did not meet any issues with the game sound, in game audio or anything else of the sort. Again, as the game is a shooter, the sounds, audio and all effects are geared towards being a shooter style sound pallet. The Controls for the game are very simplistic and easy to use. As the game is a shooter, the left thumb stick is used to control the character, the right one is to aim, and there is a melee button to use to deflect incoming projectiles and defeat enemies. Also, as you obtain it in the level, there is a button to use for your special attack. In our play testing, none of our play testers did not run into any issues with game controller settings and were able to pick up and play the game. Also, in our special needs game testing we did not run into any issues with the game controller setup. We were able to test the game on a gaming PC and would highly recommend using a controller vs. a keyboard/mouse setup for younger and older gamers.
“If you are a fan of top-down shooters that get better and harder as you play then you will feel right at home with I Hate Running Backwards”
Family Friendly
One of our concerns about the game was the fact that it has permadeath and that if/when you die in the game, you must start all over, well I am happy to say that the permadeath works well in I Hate Running Backwards. What makes it work is that its makes the game a fun, challenging, competitive game for family members alike to play and try to top each other’s score. Also, the co-op adds a sense of co-operation in which both team members must work with each other to reach the same goal, if both do well, they get father into the game. This mix into the game makes I Hate Running Backwards a fun game for all family members. If you are a fan of the Serious Sam or any of the other games series then you will have a great time with this game. In our playtesting of the game, everyone that played the game had a great time and even with the permadeath in the game, it still did not make any difference. One thing to point out is that the sound is important as this will help identify the enemies that run from the side of the level and not getting killed in the process. In our special needs game testing, we did not run into any issues with the graphics, audio, controls and if anything our gamers really loved the game and the gameplay. One of the great perks of the game is that because of the premadeath in the game it allows to have friendly challenges to see how long can someone stay alive in the game or how far a team of 2 can get in co-op. This allows games to be competitive in a friendly environment and also work as a team in co-op. This also help with team building skills as well social skills for younger gamers as well shy older gamers to have fun with like minded gamers. We highly recommend I Hate Running Backwards for any gamers that are looking for a shooter or just a fun game.
Closing
I Hate Running Backwards is a great co-op game for those that love shooters. Even though there is a permadeath element in the game, but it works well for this shooter.
