Mindless Running
- February 18, 2016
- Quiet River
Get on Steam"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.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game provides a brief escape from reality, offering moments of joy and hope, especially during tough times.
- It features a simple yet engaging gameplay mechanic that can be entertaining for short bursts.
- The low price point makes it accessible for those looking for a casual gaming experience.
- The gameplay is repetitive and lacks depth, leading to a monotonous experience.
- Hit detection and controls are often frustrating, making the game feel unfair and poorly designed.
- The game is riddled with bugs and technical issues, detracting from the overall enjoyment.
- story45 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's story mode is criticized for being overly simplistic and short, often described as a mere backdrop for gameplay rather than a compelling narrative. Players find the plot confusing and poorly executed, with many expressing frustration over the lack of checkpoints and the need to complete it in one sitting. While some appreciate the cute premise of a character searching for family, the overall execution leaves much to be desired, leading to a mixed reception regarding its storytelling quality.
“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 is nice and really funny, too!”
“The story mode was really cute, and after that I had a little fun checking out the characters.”
“Includes a story mode with preset levels and a confusing ending.”
“The storyline is weird and hard to understand.”
“The story mode isn't anything special, anyway.”
- music26 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the beautiful and emotional tracks, while others criticize the repetitive and monotonous nature of the soundtrack, particularly noting the limited variety and reliance on stock music. While a few standout songs are highlighted, many players find the overall musical experience frustrating and annoying, leading to a recommendation to enjoy the music without engaging in the gameplay.
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“Recommended for the beautiful sad music <3”
“This game, its music, the graphics... all wonderful.”
“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.”
- graphics12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game have received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing the use of outdated retro pixel art that appears unfinished and lacks customization options. While some appreciate the cute art style and find it charming, others feel the overall quality is low and lacks dynamism, leading to a stiff gaming experience. Overall, the graphics seem to be a significant drawback for many users.
“This game, its music, the graphics... all wonderful.”
“Overall, the graphics look nice, the art style is kind of cute, and the obstacles are nicely done.”
“Cute graphics, which keep you from uninstalling it instantly.”
“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.”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its repetitive and simplistic mechanics, primarily involving endless running and jumping, which many players find tedious and lacking depth. While some appreciate the music and visuals, the overall experience is marred by frustrating mechanics and an unengaging story mode, leading to a generally negative 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.”
“The mixture of bad gameplay and a terrible story mode makes this game one of the worst experiences for gamers.”
- humor7 mentions
- 86 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The humor in the game receives mixed reviews; while some users find it intelligent and funny, contributing significantly to the game's appeal, others describe it as ugly and unfunny. Overall, the comedic elements, particularly the dialogues and story, are highlighted as standout features that elevate the experience beyond typical endless runners.
“Fair enough for its price, right amount of difficulty, intelligent and funny dialogues differentiate it.”
“The story is nice and really funny, too!”
“Really, if it weren't for the developer's sense of humor, there wouldn't be much to separate this from the rest of the bargain bin endless runners on Steam or your smartphone, but I enjoyed the game a lot more for it.”
“Ugly, unfunny, and unplayable.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is criticized for its frequent bugs, particularly with controls that hinder gameplay, requiring players to repeatedly click to start new rounds. Additionally, the character's rapid movement through the environment contributes to confusion and discomfort, detracting from the overall 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.”
“This is probably the worst runner game I've ever played. The controls are a bit buggy, and the character moves so fast through the pixel world that it becomes really confusing. I got a headache pretty quickly.”
- monetization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
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 ads, making it quite annoying to play.”
“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.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Users generally find the replayability of the game to be very low, with some stating that once achievements are completed, there is little incentive to play again. Overall, the consensus indicates a lack of replay value.
“Though because of that, after getting the achievements, the replay value is 0.”
“No replayability.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and unpolished, with issues such as the absence of a leaderboard and failures in achievement triggers. Overall, it is not recommended for those looking to farm cards or achievements.
“It's tedious, there's no leaderboard, and sometimes achievements fail to trigger.”
“This whitebox alpha prototype is tedious and unpolished as all hell.”
“Not recommended even for farming cards or achievements.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is negatively impacted by frustrating gameplay mechanics, such as inconsistent hitboxes that can lead to unexpected deaths, creating feelings of annoyance and unfairness among players.
