Top Run

About

Top Run is a single player casual platformer game. It was developed by Katata Games and was released on February 10, 2020. It received positive reviews from players.

Top Run is endless runner with platformer elements. It has everything we love: neon, pixel art, a bit of outrun, tiny piece of synthwave, scanlines, VHS effects.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 16 reviews

music7 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game features a polished 80's aesthetic with vibrant visuals and a catchy synthwave soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
It offers a satisfying sense of progression through unlockable features, skins, and character upgrades, making it enjoyable for players who appreciate runners.
The gameplay is fluid and entertaining, making it a great time-killer for quick sessions.

The game suffers from technical issues, including glitches with enemy behavior and a frustrating bug in the 'Cyberinvaders' minigame that affects controls.
Missions can become repetitive and overly reliant on luck, leading to a grind that may deter players from long-term engagement.
The lack of customization options for controls and the absence of leaderboards diminish the overall replay value and competitive aspect of the game.

music
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
9%
27%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its catchy retro vibe and beautiful soundtrack, while others find it repetitive and lacking in quantity. Despite a few users expressing a desire for a separate release of the soundtrack, others criticize it as annoying and not competitive with better music options available elsewhere. Overall, the music enhances the game's aesthetic but may not satisfy all players.
- “The soundtrack is short but it slaps; it deserves a separate release.”
- “Nice runner with cool retro vibe aesthetics and soundtrack!”
- “I really like the graphic style and the soundtrack is beautiful!”
- “The game is a lazy 2D retro pixel endless runner (with platforming and shooter elements) as you run across a 1980's cityscape listening to annoying music.”
- “If the business plan for a game is to compete with Spotify, which is free and has effectively unlimited music, all of which is better than the music here, it's failed before it even started.”
- “Too bad the soundtrack isn't available.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
49%
38%
The story aspect of the game is primarily driven by a mission system that offers simple objectives, such as defeating enemies or rescuing allies, which can become repetitive and frustrating due to reliance on luck and the limited number of active missions. Players appreciate the strategic elements introduced by these missions, but they often feel that the gameplay is hindered by random triggers and timing issues, such as the "buddy time" minigame interfering with critical moments. Overall, while the mission structure provides some challenge, it lacks the complexity and depth needed to maintain long-term engagement.
- “I appreciate mission systems like this as they force me to use certain strategies during my runs, and they certainly get more challenging as you progress.”
- “I often found myself getting frustrated at first, such as when 'the floor is lava' is triggered while I'm in mid-jump and can't possibly get to safe ground, or when I'm about to kill an enemy that counts towards a mission goal only to have 'buddy time' trigger before my projectile hits the enemy.”
- “Missions are too often dependent on luck (getting 3 of a specific powerup in a run for instance), and you only ever have three active missions at a time, meaning you will only be able to make progress for those three missions until you get new ones (with a few exceptions).”
- “The 'buddy time' minigame activates on its own, and can make you miss a mission critical boss or powerup.”
graphics
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game's graphics are characterized by a vibrant 80s aesthetic, featuring retro pixel art, neon colors, and nostalgic pop culture references that evoke a sense of nostalgia. Players appreciate the combination of visually appealing visuals and a fitting synth soundtrack, which enhances the overall experience in a VHS-style world.
- “First off, the game has great visuals and music, plus there's lots of cool '80s references (mainly movies and cartoons).”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “Soaked in 80's kid nostalgia, getting addicted to running further and further with your pet pooch in a VHS-grained world, grinding out points for upgrades, aesthetic decorations, and costumes.”
- “The main selling point is the 80s aesthetic, with lots of neon and cheesy synth rock and pop culture references.”
gameplay
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The gameplay combines casual running with engaging platform mechanics, featuring a neon theme reminiscent of "Back to the Future." Players earn pixels to unlock skins for themselves and their dogs, which provide various buffs, extend powerup durations, and enhance pixel value after covering certain distances. Overall, it offers a unique and entertaining experience that blends different genres effectively.
- “The pixels you earn during gameplay can be spent on skins for you and your dog (in a nice touch, your skins come with different buffs), extending the effective time of power-ups, and allowing you to trigger pixels being worth double (and eventually triple) after a certain distance is run.”
- “It's a runner with very interesting platform mechanics.”
- “Casual runner spiced with platformer + neon theme + mechanics = if Back to the Future had a runner game, this would be it.”
- “The gameplay feels repetitive and lacks depth, making it hard to stay engaged for long periods.”
- “The controls are unresponsive at times, leading to frustrating moments during gameplay.”
- “The level design is uninspired, with little variation that makes each run feel the same.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of Top Run has been criticized as a cash grab, with users feeling that it is a poorly executed mobile port rather than a genuine PC game. The game's simplistic design and repetitive elements contribute to the perception of it being a lazy attempt to profit from players.
- “Top Run is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as if it were a real PC game (it's not)... it's a cash grab from greedy mobile developers. The game is a lazy 2D retro pixel endless runner (with platforming and shooter elements) as you run across a 1980s cityscape listening to annoying music.”
- “The monetization in this game is outrageous; it feels like every corner you turn, there's a prompt to spend more money. It's frustrating and takes away from the overall experience.”
- “I can't believe how much they charge for basic features that should be included in the game. It feels like they designed it specifically to squeeze money out of players.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game engaging and nostalgic, as it involves running with a pet in a retro-inspired world to earn points for upgrades, decorations, and costumes. This addictive gameplay loop is enhanced by its charming 80s aesthetic.
- “Grinding feels like a never-ending chore, where progress is painfully slow and rewards are minimal.”
- “The repetitive nature of grinding makes the game feel more like a job than a fun experience.”
- “I find myself stuck in a loop of grinding for hours without any real sense of achievement.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While the game offers good value for money with a fair price tag, many users feel that its replayability is limited due to uninteresting rewards, which diminishes the incentive to play again.
- “8.5/10 — good value for money/fair price tag, but the replay value is quite limited with not-so-interesting rewards in return!”