Crash Bandicoot celebrates 25 years of crate-bashing, button-mashing, and boss-thrashing this year. The title hero (who just appeared on the cover of Men's Journal) and his friends and family have featured in more than 20 games over the course of the franchise. Those titles have spanned across genres like the classic action-platformer, kart racing, and party games to name a few, but some fringe titles and mobile adaptations get sidelined when it comes to counting down the Crashiest of the Crash games. Social games giant King aims to change that trend with the new mobile runner Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!
As of today, the action-packed app arrives on both iOS and Android devices. (I've yet to see the specs for just which devices, but On the Run! is smooth-sailing on my old-and-busted Samsung Galaxy S7.) What you'll get in this relatively small package is a ton of content tailormade to please and surprise diehard Crash Bandicoot fans and newcomers to the franchise alike. The runner strikes a perfect balance of being easy to pick up but difficult to master and includes a wide range of difficulty for everyone from casual players to 106%'rs alike. And with plans to keep the content coming through new Seasons, characters, and challenges in the months and years ahead, there's no reason not to get into Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! now during the launch celebration.
Despite the fact that mobile phone games have been around for almost 30 years now, for some demographics, there's still that knee-jerk reaction that these handheld titles are "less-than" their PC/console compatriots or somehow subpar by default. The revenue numbers simply don't support that, with tens of billions of dollars generated by the mobile gaming industry year after year. King knows a thing or two about that success, having contributed to it in big ways thanks to their Candy Crush franchise and other winners. Now, they're putting their considerable might behind Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!, a solid runner (and, let's be honest, revenue-generator) buoyed by the absolutely nerdy and delightful dedication to the franchise fandom by the Devs team. That attention to detail and passion for the craft (and the Crash) is clear in everything from the character design, to the cast of characters themselves, to the music (which is so, so good), the running mechanics, and the promise of more Crash content to come.
Take a deep breath, lace up those sneakers, and grab a Wumpa fruit or two, because I'm about to go in-depth on why this mobile game deserves to wave the Crash flag proudly.
Gameplay
Let's start with the basics: What is a mobile runner, exactly?
If you haven't played one before, a mobile runner is essentially an auto-scroller that puts the player in control of a character who must jump, dodge, duck, slide, and otherwise avoid obstacles in order to run as long as possible. If you're a Crash fan, you can probably already see how this approach both works very well for the platformer and also how things could get very complicated very quickly.
Luckily, King has actually streamlined the process so that On the Run! is composed of finite levels (rather than endless or infinite ones) for story progression, levels with loot loops for resource grinding (more on that in a minute), and infinitely long procedurally generated levels that see players running against each other (or bots) to find out who can run the longest without dying. That variety alone adds a lot of context and gameplay diversity to the mobile app. So let's break them down one by one.
Story
Believe it or not, there's actually a story to On the Run! It sees Dr. Neo Cortex attempting to gain control of all dimensions by pulling in enemies, henchmen, and bosses from all across the span of the Crash franchise universe. That's how you get villains like Scorporilla popping up as an early boss, Nitrous Oxide presiding over the first story arc, and Mr. Crumb making his first 3D-modeled appearance as a boss after debuting in the late 90s Tiger Electronics 99x handheld game. You'll even get sub-bosses like the Pink Elephant, a sprite originally designed for Coco's level in Twinsanity but which never made the final cut, until now. That's the depth of dedication that the On the Run! team has for this game and Crash fans.
In order to progress that story, you'll have to gather a variety of resources from the various islands and their respective levels in order to put together powerful science weapons you'll use against the henchmen and bosses. Think of it like using N. Brio's own flasks and bombs, or Dr. Neo Cortex's own projectile weapons, against them. Coco can craft them back at her base (a new mechanic as far as Crash games are concerned), but she can also go out into the field in place of Crash to run through levels and grab the necessary ingredients. Admittedly, resource grinding can get a bit tedious, especially as the recipes for these science weapons quickly get complicated, so it's a good thing that there are various challenges throughout the game's hub that reward players with hard-to-gather resources. (And it's a better thing that the music is so good that you actually enjoy listening to it over and over again.)
Challenges
These mini-missions can come courtesy of the main mask himself Aku-Aku or a variety of level-specific challenges that become available as you progress. Aku-Aku's missions come as a checklist of three things you must do in order to earn a certain reward; these can be completed passively as you play or you can specifically go after some goals if you need a reward to progress. The Challenges, however, open up as the story develops, and that's where things get really interesting in On the Run!
Admittedly, much of the early goings in the mobile game simply feel like other runners: Your character runs, jumps, dodges from side to side, and slides to avoid obstacles and gather resources. You have ample opportunity to use in-game currency to speed up progression of things like base updates and crafting, just as you have plenty of chances to spend real-world money to buy in-game currency, resources, cosmetic skins, the works. (It's worth noting, however, that you can earn most of these things in-game, it just takes longer. And also worth mentioning that costumes/skins aren't just cosmetics, they all come with a bonus that actually helps Crash and Coco in their runs.) But while these early levels are relatively easy, it's the Challenges that really raise the bar and make On the Run! feel much more like a Crash game.
It was my first "Colored Gem Challenge" that made me sit up and really pay attention to what I was doing in the run. I died. A lot. And to anyone who watched me struggle through all four main Crash games on Twitch, that shouldn't be a surprise. But these Challenge levels are lovingly and devilishly crafted so that you can easily learn from your mistakes (and deaths) as you try to run it again and again. Plus, there are multiple routes to take to beat a level, so if one angle of approach doesn't work out, you have plenty of opportunities to try another.
The levels load quickly and there's no deterrent to running them as many times as you need to; in fact, the game encourages you to keep trying rather than quitting and giving up your earned Wumpa fruit. Factor in Time Trials, a classic gameplay style, and yeah, the difficulty ramps up much more. I can't stress enough how much all of this -- the flow, the movement, the music and sounds, the failures, the absolutely trolling level designs, and the ultimate victory -- all felt like vintage Crash.
But for the diehard Crash competitors out there, you'll want to try out the exclusive new mode for the mobile game: Survival Runs.
Survival Runs
This is where King's pro-social gaming status shines. Survival Runs use procedurally generated levels to pit you against two opponents, all running simultaneously on the same screen to see who can survive the longest. I genuinely can't wait to watch pro-runners go head to head to head on these stages. They're insane (or n. sane), and they really test your skills as a Crash runner On the Run!
The only downside here is that each Survival Run costs a ticket. Not surprising considering that we're talking about a mobile runner game chock full of microtransaction potential. However, you can nab at least one free Survival Run ticket every day, in addition to grabbing free loot from the vending machine, and even watching a short ad for yet more "free" rewards. Again, you have the option to pay for most if not all of this to speed things up, but that transaction is up to you. King and the On the Run! team make the game's content accessible for free and paid players alike, it's just a matter of how patient you're willing to be and how much you're willing to pay. (Full transparency: King did drop quite a few crystals into my account to give me the full game experience. I honestly mostly just spent these on costumes/skins because I liked them and even tried to drop some real money on Crash and Coco's Biker skin purely out of nostalgia.)
If it's a real challenge you're looking for in Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!, I implore you to push through the early, relatively easy story missions and try out all manner of Challenge Runs and Survival Runs. I think you'll find something a lot closer to the classic Crash experience there when you do.
But what's it all for other than fun and story progression?
Rewards
First of all, there's no such thing as a wasted run in this game. Even if you're grinding for resources in the same levels over and over, your wumpa fruits, trophies earned, and even the steps you take can be turned in and exchanged for rewards. Wumpa fruits and steps can be offered up as tribute to the tiki statue as soon as you're able to repair it; this will generate more trophies for you to climb your way up the Bandicoot Pass and the leaderboards, where you'll get even more rewards. And while resources mostly go towards making science weapons to take on bosses so that you can clear levels and earn gems to open up yet more lands and levels (rinse and repeat), they also go towards upgrading your base and making it easier on your progression.
There are a lot of resources, currencies, and rewards to keep track of in the game, and King gives you an opportunity to buy pretty much all of them for cold, hard cash if you want to or are able to. The currency that's hardest to come by is probably the purple crystals that let you grab custom skins and costumes, which in turn help you grind resources and stay alive longer in runs, whatever flavor they take. But keep in mind that you can earn all of these things without paying a dime, you'll just have to grind a bit more for it. (And speaking of costumes, while 70 of them are available to earn at launch, King expects to have 200 in the game by year's end.)
Most of these rewards will be put back towards your progression, but there are definitely some fun surprises in store for diehard Crash fans. And I hate to be cheesy about it, but sometimes the best rewards are the intangible ones, like winning Survival Runs, obtaining that hard-to-win gem, or beating a boss that's been giving you a ton of trouble. Sometimes it just FeelsGoodMan.
The Future
The Celebration Season launch for Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! is just the beginning. While quality-of-life changes are certainly coming to the game as players get their hands on it and share their thoughts, the team over at King is hoping to bring much more Crash content to the app in the months and seasons ahead. Do you want new playable characters? Let the team know. Want new skins or cosmetics added to the game? Make some noise. Do you want a Crash Kart minigame that you can play like a Survival Run? Or ride a little polar bear, dinosaur, tiger, or tardigrade through a level? Want to see something chasing Crash for a change? Talk about it on social and get your friends to do the same!
Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! is a solid start for a mobile runner and a fantastic addition to the Crash franchise in my personal opinion. (And I seriously hope they release a standalone OST since it's a treat to listen to and those bosses and their music disappear far too quickly.) It's a good runner that offers plenty of challenges and difficulty options through a variety of gameplay styles, builds in a social aspect thanks to team settings and competitive survival runs, and absolutely nails the style and substance of Crash Bandicoot. I can't wait to get back in the game and see how far I can go, and after that, I can't wait to see what comes next.