Runers

70%
Game Brain Score Based on 165 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • replayability
Runers Game Cover
Runers offers a truly enjoyable experience, with a good marriage of standard roguelike mechanics expanded by the real-time top-down shooter gameplay dynamic and by the spell crafting system. It offers enough variety to keep things fresh, but not enough to make it truly stand out from the ever-increasing crowd of roguelikes out there. The combat is pretty spammy, and your progression is conditioned by luck and requires a lot of repetition. The rune combining system is a really nice feature, enabling you to mix and match your favorite effects to get spells custom-tailored to your preferred play style, and this experimentation is probably the most fun activity in the whole game.
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"Runers" is a fantasy shooter game with local multi-player option for up to 2 players. It's a rogue-like dungeon shooter with top-down perspective, where you gather Runes to create unique spells and explore procedurally generated floors. The game offers customization and discovery with various playing styles, leveling up, and random traits to unlock, but beware, death ends the playthrough.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

70%
Audience ScoreBased on 165 reviews
gameplay19 positive mentions
grinding4 negative mentions
  • The spell crafting system is extensive and allows for a wide variety of unique spells, with 285 spells to discover.
  • The game offers high replayability due to its procedural generation and the ability to experiment with different rune combinations and character builds.
  • The fast-paced gameplay and challenging mechanics keep players engaged and encourage strategic thinking.
  • The game suffers from frequent crashes and technical issues, which can be frustrating and disrupt the gameplay experience.
  • Enemy variety is limited, often leading to repetitive encounters, and the maps lack interesting design.
  • The control scheme can feel awkward, making it difficult to effectively manage multiple spells during combat.
  • gameplay52 mentions

    The gameplay in "Runers" is characterized by a blend of solid mechanics and a captivating spell discovery system, allowing for a variety of playstyles and customization options. While the core loop is engaging and offers significant replayability, some players find the experience can become repetitive or hindered by clunky controls and a lack of polish. Overall, the game successfully combines elements of roguelike and action gameplay, though it may require players to invest time in mastering its mechanics for a more rewarding experience.

    • “The mechanics are solid, the gameplay loop really hooks you in, and it's so much fun to discover spells, especially with a friend!”
    • “Gameplay is smooth, easy to understand but hard to master.”
    • “Runers offers a truly enjoyable experience, with a good marriage of standard roguelike mechanics expanded by the real-time top-down shooter gameplay dynamic and by the spell crafting system.”
    • “The game really wants you to be bad at everything so it can show you how awesome you are later when presumably the gameplay becomes easy because of how much more powerful you become.”
    • “Thought it would be fun but I don't feel much difference nor excitement discovering new magics, and the gameplay itself is pretty basic and infested. I felt like it's more important to run around mindlessly than think of any strategy to fight anything.”
    • “The graphics, animations, music, and gameplay feel like a flash game or run-of-the-mill dungeon crawler created by some guy in the late 90s at Game Maker because it's his first 'real game'.”
  • graphics28 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players describing them as outdated, simplistic, and reminiscent of early 90s flash games. While some appreciate the charming, old-school aesthetic, others find the visuals drab and lacking in detail, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the graphics may not appeal to those who prioritize visual quality, but they do not significantly hinder gameplay for players focused on fun and mechanics.

    • “The visuals, sounds, and GUI design are spot on and have a very DIY feel that is endearingly telling of a small dev team crafting a hidden gem that will be pined over by loyalists for decades to come.”
    • “The graphics are cool and charming in an old-school way.”
    • “Simple decent looking graphics, tight responsive controls, and tons of variety and random elements keep me coming back for run after run looking for that perfect rune setup.”
    • “Graphically it could use some work and there are quite a few bugs that cause me to crash.”
    • “Very solid game with drab visuals and not a whole hell of a lot of explanation as to what means what.”
    • “The graphics, animations, music and gameplay feels like a flash-game or run-of-the-mill dungeon crawler created by some guy in late 90’s at game maker because it's his first 'real game'.”
  • replayability17 mentions

    The game boasts significant replayability, driven by its extensive array of 285 spells, diverse classes and races, and random floor generation. Players appreciate the tactical depth of spell selection and the variety of character options, which encourage experimentation and make each run feel unique. Overall, the combination of customization, challenging gameplay, and leaderboard features contributes to a highly engaging and replayable experience.

    • “They weren't kidding about the number of unique spells and the variety of classes & races available, and the game definitely has replayability thanks to the random generation of floors and the different traits available on each level up.”
    • “Fantastic game, interesting mechanics, devilishly challenging gameplay, tons of replayability with all the character options and spell combinations, great soundtrack, just loads I like about this game.”
    • “The combinations of those and your starting spell tends to define a run, for better or worse, lending replayability.”
    • “Back to this specific game, the replayability factor is huge, due to the previously mentioned customization options, as well as the leaderboards.”
    • “Massive replayability.”
  • music16 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players praising its beauty, atmosphere, and overall quality, while others note issues with volume and clarity. Some users expressed a desire for the soundtrack to be more prominent, especially after purchasing the DLC, while others found it to be a solid complement to the gameplay. Overall, the soundtrack is generally appreciated, but its implementation and audibility have raised some concerns among players.

    • “The music is completely beautiful, atmospheric, and brilliant.”
    • “Fantastic game, interesting mechanics, devilishly challenging gameplay, tons of replayability with all the character options and spell combinations, great soundtrack, just loads I like about this game.”
    • “Good: a lot of spells to discover, many of the 'good' rogue-lite elements, a large amount of replayability, and a really good soundtrack.”
    • “The music and sounds are really rough.”
    • “The music is really quiet.”
    • “The graphics, animations, music, and gameplay feel like a flash game or run-of-the-mill dungeon crawler created by some guy in the late 90s at Game Maker because it's his first 'real game'.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some describe it as tedious and complicated, particularly when unlocking higher-tier spells and ramping up gear, others appreciate the grind as a rewarding element of the roguelike gameplay. Overall, the grind can feel frustrating at times, but it also contributes to the game's appeal for those who enjoy the genre.

    • “Can be tedious to unlock tier 3 spells.”
    • “It is tedious, complicated, and as far from intuitive as you can get without just outright lying to you about how to play the game.”
    • “My only complaint really is that restarting can be a bit tedious with how long it may take to ramp up your gear/character.”
  • humor2 mentions

    Players find the humor in the game to be surprisingly enjoyable, as familiarity with the various mob types leads to laughter rather than frustration, transforming once-difficult encounters into amusing experiences.

    • “Once you get to know the majority of the mob types, you will find yourself laughing in the face of enemies that you used to curse for their ridiculous difficulty!”
    • “It's almost funny, actually.”
  • story2 mentions

    The story is perceived as incomplete, with players noting that it ends abruptly at level 10, leaving the narrative unresolved. There is speculation that higher difficulty levels may extend the storyline, but this remains unconfirmed.

    • “With cheats, I found it ends at level 10, seemingly prematurely, without finishing the game's storyline. Maybe this is because I've only tried the 1st and 2nd difficulty levels; perhaps the 3rd, 4th, and 5th will go beyond level 10?”
  • stability2 mentions

    The stability of the game has been criticized for being poor, with users reporting numerous bugs and glitches that detract from the overall experience. Some features are deemed ineffective and contribute to the game's instability.

    • “The game is butter-faced, bad, and buggy.”
    • “Some perks are just useless and buggy.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The game generally runs smoothly with minimal issues, experiencing only a single crash over several hours of play, which was easily recoverable without significant loss of progress.

    • “It runs smoothly, and it only crashed once in several hours. I was able to return to the level I was on after restarting, so no real harm done.”
    • “The optimization is impressive, allowing for seamless gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
    • “I appreciate how well the game manages resources, ensuring a stable frame rate throughout my playtime.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is enhanced by its beautiful and brilliant music, which creates an immersive and captivating experience for players.

    • “The music is completely beautiful, atmospheric, and brilliant.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

75% average critic score

Buy Runers

Play time

6hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
6-6hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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