Mindless Running

About

Mindless Running is a single player action game. It was developed by Quiet River and was released on February 18, 2016. It received neutral reviews from players.

"Mindless Running" is a challenging endless runner game with a story mode and unique soundtrack. The hero must journey through a randomly-generated world to reach his beloved Granny, who has baked his favorite Pedigree snacks. Despite the chosen difficulty level, the game is always hard, testing your skills and endurance. Earn points in normal game mode to unlock Steam achievements and enjoy narrative dialogues with a touch of irony. There are no ratings or best scores, as the game celebrates your individuality.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

52%

Audience ScoreBased on 128 reviews

story5 positive mentions

music5 negative mentions

The game is very affordable, making it accessible for players looking for a cheap entertainment option.
It offers a unique challenge with its punishing difficulty, which some players find satisfying once they master it.
The game features trading cards and achievements, providing additional incentives for completionists.

Gameplay is repetitive and lacks depth, leading to a monotonous experience after a short time.
Hit detection is inconsistent, causing frustration as players often die without clear reasons.
The game suffers from poor graphics and sound quality, making it feel unpolished and amateurish.

story
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
78%
8%
The game's story mode is brief, spanning only a few levels, and revolves around simple quests like finding family members, which some players found underwhelming or confusing. While the narrative has its charm and humor, many reviewers criticized the lack of checkpoints and the inability to save progress, making the experience frustrating. Overall, the story is seen as a minor aspect of the game, overshadowed by gameplay mechanics and challenges.
- “The story is nice and really funny, too!”
- “In story mode, you have to find the character's grandma through different worlds.”
- “Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
- “The story mode is obnoxious and plays the same piano song for the first three of a total of four levels.”
- “I've also read there's no saving in story mode, so you have to beat it all in one sitting.”
- “To be quite honest, I didn't notice the story mode at the beginning; I just thought that the game was all about 'mindless running' as the title says.”
music
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
62%
21%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it monotonous and annoying due to repetitive tracks, while others appreciate the beautiful and emotional soundtrack, particularly in certain levels. Many users noted the use of stock music and criticized the lack of variety, although a few highlighted the retro mode's music as a standout feature. Overall, while the music can enhance the experience for some, it detracts from enjoyment for others, leading to a polarized reception.
- “Recommended for the beautiful sad music <3”
- “This game, its music, the graphics... all wonderful.”
- “At the final level, you play with an amazing beautiful song that literally makes you want more (the song resets when you die) so you keep playing until you manage to complete it.”
- “The music is also monotonous.”
- “Not only that, but the song playing in the background gets very annoying after a while.”
- “The story mode is obnoxious and plays the same piano song for the first three of a total of four levels.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
60%
30%
The graphics of the game have been widely criticized for their outdated retro pixel art style, which many players feel looks unfinished and lacks customization options. Users noted the absence of resolution settings and dynamic elements, leading to a stiff and low-quality visual experience. While some appreciate the nostalgic aesthetic, the overall consensus is that the graphics do not meet contemporary standards.
- “This game, its music, the graphics... all wonderful.”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “There's no options to change the resolution for the game or customize the graphics settings.”
- “The graphics are not that good; the game feels stiff, lacking dynamics and physics.”
gameplay
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The gameplay is characterized by its repetitive and simplistic mechanics, primarily involving endless running and jumping, which many players find lacks depth and variety. While some appreciate the game's music and visuals, the overall experience is marred by infuriating mechanics and frequent ads, leading to a mixed reception.
- “Gameplay is very simple - you just press spacebar and time it to perfection.”
- “For a quick reactions game, it is just the story mode with simple mechanics.”
- “Wow, gameplay!”
- “The gameplay of mindless running is very repetitive.”
- “Overall, while mindless running can be a fun time-waster, it falls short in many areas such as repetitive gameplay, lack of depth, and annoying ads.”
- “I love the music of this game and cute animals to play as, but the gameplay is horrible.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
17%
The humor in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players find the dialogues and story to be intelligent and genuinely funny, others criticize it as ugly and unfunny. Overall, the comedic elements are appreciated by many, contributing positively to the game's experience.
- “Fair enough for its price, right amount of difficulty, intelligent and funny dialogues differentiate it.”
- “The story is nice and really funny, too!”
- “Pretty funny comedy, though.”
- “Ugly, unfunny, and unplayable.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game is heavily criticized for its excessive and intrusive ads, which detract from the overall experience. Many users feel that the game prioritizes profit over quality, labeling it a shallow cash grab with repetitive gameplay and minimal depth.
- “The game is riddled with annoying ads.”
- “Overall, while mindless running can be a fun time-waster, it falls short in many areas such as repetitive gameplay, lack of depth, and annoying ads.”
- “That's all there is to this shallow, minimum viable product cash grab.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Users generally find the game lacks replayability, with some stating that once achievements are completed, there is little incentive to play again, resulting in a perceived replay value of zero.
- “Though because of that, after getting the achievements, the replay value is 0.”
- “No replayability.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report significant stability issues, noting that initiating a new round requires repeatedly clicking a problematic field with the mouse, which detracts from the overall gameplay experience.
- “In order to be able to play a new round, you have to grab the mouse every time and click on a field, which is also buggy.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the grinding aspect of this whitebox alpha prototype to be tedious and unpolished, making it unappealing even for those looking to farm cards or achievements.
- “This whitebox alpha prototype is tedious and unpolished as all hell.”
- “Not recommended even for farming cards or achievements.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is negatively impacted by frustrating gameplay mechanics, such as inconsistent hitboxes that can lead to unexpected deaths, creating a sense of unfairness and irritation for players.