Runaway: A Twist of Fate

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In "Runaway: A Twist of Fate," players join Gina on a thrilling quest to find her boyfriend, Brian, as they solve over 200 puzzles and uncover mysteries in a production resembling a 2D animated movie. With a story full of humor, suspense, and twists, this adventure game offers two possible happy endings and nearly 100 unique visual sets.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

87%

Audience ScoreBased on 150 reviews

story41 positive mentions

stability4 negative mentions

The game features a significant improvement in gameplay mechanics, including a hotspot key to eliminate pixel hunting and a hint system that enhances the overall experience.
The story is engaging and well-structured, providing a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy while allowing players to control Gina, adding depth to her character.
The graphics and animations are beautifully done, with vibrant hand-drawn backgrounds that enhance the game's atmosphere.

Some players found the new voice actors jarring, particularly for the character Brian, which detracted from the overall experience.
The game is noticeably shorter than its predecessors, leading some to feel that it lacks the depth and complexity of the earlier entries.
While the puzzles are generally more logical, there are still instances of vague solutions that can lead to frustration.

story
162 mentions
25 % positive mentions
72 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The story in "Runaway: A Twist of Fate" is generally regarded as a significant improvement over its predecessor, offering a more coherent and engaging narrative that ties up loose ends from the previous games. While some players found the plot convoluted and occasionally silly, many appreciated the humor and character development, as well as the game's ability to recap essential story elements for newcomers. Overall, it is seen as a satisfying conclusion to the series, though familiarity with earlier installments enhances the experience.
- “It's a very well-written story; not only does it attempt to resolve all the crazy things left by the previous game, but it also manages to stay engaging and mysterious to the very end.”
- “This last installment manages to tie up all loose ends and bring a lively dynamic to the setting by arranging various storylines into an understandable and exciting resolution - and also tops the quality of the humor a couple notches up.”
- “The story also seemed to be much more coherent than previous games, which really helped elevate the quality of the game to a whole new level comparable to the likes of classic adventure games such as Broken Sword, Myst, or Grim Fandango.”
- “The plot is impossible to follow!”
- “I get it that the game is trying to tell the story in a non-linear way, but the way they unfold the plot is really bad.”
- “Sadly, it seemed almost dumbed down and changed around for the masses, appealing to a wider audience by compromising story plot and introducing a larger number of cutscenes.”
graphics
42 mentions
45 % positive mentions
48 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their beautiful hand-drawn backgrounds, vibrant colors, and unique art style that remains appealing even years after its release. While some reviews noted that the character designs could be improved and menu controls felt clunky, the overall visual experience is described as exceptional, with impressive animations and a cohesive aesthetic that enhances the storytelling. The game's cartoonish graphics effectively maintain the charm of the series, making it a visually enjoyable experience.
- “Praised for its beautiful hand-drawn background graphics and unique story.”
- “Gorgeous visuals, thrilling narrative infused with comedy and nicely balanced puzzles make it a memorable, top-notch point’n’click.”
- “The graphics and art have been improved and cinematics are much better than the first two.”
- “The cartoony graphics keep it young, and you can't really tell if the game was created in 2009 or 2023.”
- “Graphics are just okay though - it gives a decent resolution but the controls in the menus are huge and clunky.”
- “Visually, the cartoonish hand drawn backgrounds in here still maintain the unique aesthetics of the series, although they do feel subjectively less memorable than in Runaway 1 and not as vibrant as in Runaway 2 this time around.”
humor
42 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and charm, featuring a mix of witty dialogue, amusing character interactions, and a unique hint system that adds to the comedic experience. Players appreciate the balance of light-heartedness and snark, with many noting the engaging story and colorful cast of characters that contribute to the overall fun. While some critiques mention inconsistencies in humor quality and character depth, the game successfully incorporates a variety of funny moments and references that resonate well with fans of the genre.
- “The programmers have also included some hilarious voice and mouse-over comments if you try to combine two items incorrectly.”
- “There are tons of references, jokes, and breaking of the fourth wall that will have you laughing from start to finish.”
- “Endearing characters with funny dialogue really color this game and make the experience a lot of fun.”
gameplay
31 mentions
16 % positive mentions
74 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a classic point-and-click adventure that combines inventory manipulation and dialogue progression with integrated puzzles, offering a more story-driven experience compared to previous installments. While some mechanics, such as the point-and-click system, may feel lacking, the overall design is praised for its improvements, engaging puzzles, and smooth cutscenes. Despite minor bugs and a few frustrating design choices, the game is considered a solid entry in the series, with a gameplay rating around 8/10.
- “The overall gameplay is a classic point-and-click largely dependent on inventory manipulation and dialogue progression with several puzzles directly integrated in the latter.”
- “The gameplay is fairly solid as well; puzzles are just hard enough to leave you thinking for a bit, but nothing that would require looking up guides to understand some insane logic.”
- “All of the gameplay issues that appeared in the prior two titles have been finely-tuned into a fun romp through the Brian/Gina world.”
- “Unfortunately, there is no part of this game I can honestly say 'if you liked the xxx mechanic in other games, you have to try this game!'”
- “If there is one thing that the game falls short of, it's the point-and-click mechanic.”
- “The last time I checked, the Runaway series was a train wreck consisting of badly scrambled plots, annoying character stereotypes, and painfully complicated gameplay.”
music
21 mentions
33 % positive mentions
52 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received generally positive feedback, with many praising the soundtrack for its thematic consistency and ability to enhance the gaming experience without becoming intrusive. While some reviews noted that the music may not be as strong as in previous installments, it is still considered a highlight of the game, featuring a mix of ambient tracks and memorable original songs that fit well with the game's tone. Overall, the music is described as polished and enjoyable, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere.
- “The soundtrack is good, each location has its own theme, and it never gets on your nerves while you're struggling with some puzzles.”
- “The entire music and voice component are undoubtedly the most polished in the entire series.”
- “Music has always been and still is the strongest aspect of the series - a twist of fate comes in slightly below a road adventure, which means absolutely excellent.”
- “The soundtracks, on the other hand, came a little short this time.”
- “...the animations were just thrown together and the music sounds like some synthesizer from the eighties!!!”
- “Musically - typical runaway, ambient stuff more than fitting for the setting, punctured by non-ambient stuff with vocals that stick out less than before - the French song in the morgue was especially effective.”
stability
4 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while some players experienced audio glitches and occasional freezes during cutscenes, others reported no significant crashes, particularly in the final chapter. However, persistent bugs and issues with save corruption indicate that the game could benefit from further polish.
- “During the last chapter, I didn't have any crashes fortunately, but I kept saving as much as I could just in case. The cutscenes were the biggest culprit when it came to game freezes; sometimes it would just duplicate the audio, causing an echo. Other times, the end of a cutscene would freeze the whole game, making it impossible to continue and at times corrupting the saves.”
- “It's also quite buggy, and the bugs should have been hammered out years ago.”
- “There are a few audio glitches too, but nothing that hampers gameplay.”
atmosphere
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
-100 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is enhanced by beautiful hand-drawn backgrounds that effectively immerse players in the environment. While some character interactions and puzzles may feel non-essential to progression, they contribute meaningfully to the story and overall ambiance, enriching the player's experience.
- “At certain points, you can interact with characters for interaction's sake, engaging in puzzles that enhance the story and atmosphere, even if they don't directly help you progress.”
- “The beautiful hand-drawn backgrounds truly sell the atmosphere.”
- “At certain points, you can just interact with characters for interaction's sake, with puzzles that don't help you progress but contribute to the story and the atmosphere, or simply waste time while you think they should somehow take you forward - again, becoming better in retrospect.”
- “+ beautiful hand-drawn backgrounds that really sell the atmosphere.”
optimization
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
100 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users praising its smooth performance and efficient resource management, while others report issues such as frame rate drops and long loading times. Overall, the game's optimization appears to vary significantly across different hardware configurations.
grinding
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to pixel hunting, but some have discovered that using the F2 key to highlight items alleviates this frustration.
- “The grinding in this game feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “I found myself doing the same tasks over and over again, which made the experience feel more like a chore than fun.”
- “The amount of grinding required to progress is overwhelming and detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”