The Therapist Gamer

Run Sackboy! Run! started out as a phone game, but made its way onto the PlayStation Vita a few months later.  It's an endless-runner style game (like Temple Run or Jetpack Joyride) set in the LittleBig Planet universe.  

 

You play as Sackboy who automatically runs from left to right.  You tap the screen to make him jump and can swipe the screen to make him dash.  He runs progressively faster as time goes on, and the stages become more hazardous.  One slightly advanced aspect to the simple controls is that you can control how high Sackboy jumps by how long you hold the screen.  You lose if you hit an obstacle.

 

You essentially try to get the highest score possible.  You can complete side tasks to advance your level in the game, and each level comes with an increase in your score multiplier.  This is a neat dynamic at first because your efforts are rewarded with a higher score.  However, as I played the game more I felt as if my skills in gameplay weren't as important as how long I had played the game.  This is because I could perform extremely well early in the game (say, with a X2 score multiplier) and still end up with a much higher score from a poor performance later on (say, with a X25 score multiplier).  This issue exists in some form or another in all RPGs, but it's particularly noticeable and problematic in this game that focuses solely on high scores.  Did my friend get a higher score than me because he is better than me, or just because he's played the game a thousand times?  Or just because he bought a permanent score multiplier?

 

Overall, I though the game was good for a quick bit of fun but it's design flaws ultimately stop it from maintaining a presence in competitive gaming.