As someone who grew up primarily in the 1990s, I’ve played more than my fair share of 2D platformers. With those decades of experience, it’s no surprise that I consider myself a relatively strong platforming player. However, despite its precise controls, Mr. Run & Jump’s challenging, neon-bathed obstacle courses and inaccessible collectibles made me second-guess my skills every step of the way.
Initially developed as a homebrew Atari 2600 game, Mr. Run & Jump errs on the side of simplicity in its gameplay. The protagonist, also known as Mr. Run and Jump, can double, long and high jump; roll into a ball; wall jump; and even lunged forward in mid-air. This simple move set works together, allowing players to perform complex combinations while navigating the game’s many difficult rooms.
Delving deeper into the game’s 20-level main campaign, I quickly began to combine these traversal options to impressive results. Thanks to the tighter controls, I could roll under an obstacle and immediately land a high jump that led directly into a wall jump, leap forward to gain extra distance and avoid the obstacle, and use my double jump to land on a narrow platform. When these moments happen, the experience really sings, and I feel invincible. But those moments of victory come at a cost.
Advancing in each multi-room stage requires deep mastery over each move in the hero’s arsenal. As my skill increased, so did the difficulties. The initial walls of spikes and predictable enemies soon gave way to obstacles that were purposely created to annoy you. In the latter world, I encountered enemies that move faster as you land, mosquitoes that move in lightning-fast patterns, and even predators that disguise themselves as thorns planted in the ground and jump out to eat you if you get too close. These enemies often have predictable patterns, and it’s important to learn how each interacts with you, especially in the game’s optional challenge rooms.
Thanks to this ever-growing gallery of enemies and the fact that you die in one hit, Mr. Run & Jump asks a lot of you. It requires you to have lightning-fast reactions, strong improvisational skills and the patience of a saint. In some rooms, I scratched my head, wondering how I could possibly avoid the various obstacles. If you get hit, you react immediately to the beginning of the room. In some of the longer rooms, I found myself complaining and cursing because I failed just before completion.
In lieu of a boss fight at the end of each world, you’ll have to traverse The Void, an ultimate series of platforming challenges with an ever-encroaching wall that ensures you don’t have much time to ponder how to navigate the sequences. These zero stages bring together every element of the world to provide the biggest adrenaline rush of the entire game. Although their rushed nature means they often devolve into a game of trial-and-error rather than deliberate platforming, traversing these fast-paced levels always makes me happy.
After several failed attempts in any given room, the game offers you an optional, temporary invincibility power-up or a mid-room checkpoint to help if you get stuck, but this only made me more determined to make it through on my own and experience the overwhelming thrill of my accomplishment. If you choose to accept help, it unlocks the collectibles, which are needed to unlock the final challenge: the insanely difficult five-level Dark World, which takes every aspect of the experience to the next level.
Mr. Run & Jump may seem simple on the surface, but the challenges that await will make you scream in frustration until they make you scream for victory. Although the trial-and-error style of each difficult room got the better of me at times, after each success, I couldn’t wait to see what obstacles I needed to overcome next.