In a world of ever-increasing video game complexity, some games stand out as being ones that can captivate despite high-def graphics and intense gameplay. It’s certainly not easy, of course, and the ones that try have their work cut out for them.

After becoming addicted to Thumb.Run over the past week, the speedy racing game has caught my eye as a fulfillment of what’s mentioned above.

Gameplay

In many ways, Thumb.Run may leave you reminiscent of your childhood: your goal is to race to a checkpoint and back against one opponent. By taking any route necessary, the first to be back to the start wins the race. It’s a simple premise that allows anyone to jump in and understand how to play.

However, unless you were a wall-jumping, front-flipping child, the comparisons stop here. Although getting to and from a certain area may look easy, you’ll have to jump onto floating platforms via complex paths that can sometimes cause frustration.

Like Speedrunners on the desktop, Thumb.Run is a challenging, unforgiving experience that relies on a studying of the possible routes. Pitted against increasingly quicker CPUs, speeding across the finish line before your opponent is key to victory – and earning in-game coins.

What’s great about the computer opponents is that they aren’t stuck on one path constantly; you may see low-level CPUs take the easy route while stronger opponents make unexpected shortcuts. By facing more foes, you’ll get a better idea of the best way to finish a stage.

If you’re interested in besting yourself, your time will be displayed on the course selection screen. Also included is a friend’s best time from Game Center and the world’s best time.

The result of all of this is a great gameplay experience. Although I’ll get to the design and additional features of Thumb.Run in a bit, it’s important to note that the game has a strong backbone as something you’ll want to come back to and try to improve your time. The easy controls (tap a direction to run, tap that direction again to jump) make it an accessible game for those looking to focus on a goal, rather than stumble around with complex controls.

Design

Thumb.Run presents a 2D platformer in a 3D world – essentially, the 3D portion is only for aesthetic value. Because you run side to side, there’s not really a need for you to see how the landscape forms behind or the depth of the platform that you’re running on; furthermore, seeing two sides of a wall is functionally unnecessary. That’s not to say that Thumb.Run’s design is pointless or even unwarranted – in fact, the game’s design is another reason for the game to be heralded.

Through minimalistic character and landscape design, you’re able to get a clean idea of what’s going on in the environment around. For example, an outline of a tree is easily recognizable as such, despite the lack of detail on the leaves and branches. This all adds up to a whimsical, material-esque aura that plants Thumb.Run in its own category of art style.

The three levels available for playing all carry different themes, two of which are outdoors. One map, inside what looks to be an alien-research compound, compels the player to look away from the action and study what’s going on in the background. It’s possible that you might even forget the ultimate goal of the game, instead losing the round because you’re too focused on the small details of the level.

Thumb.Run isn’t without its quirks, though, and most of them can be found in the character design. One character, for example, is named Astro Carrot – and he is, as you might imagine, an orange character in a spacesuit. Even the main character is a human-like running thumb adorned with a fingerprint. As you unlock more characters, you’re sure to discover weird specimen. In a way, the strangeness of the racers gives a bit of excitement as to what may come next.

Obtaining New Characters and Leveling Up

After racing enemies, you’ll gain different amounts of coins for how well you performed. If you’ve defeated a foe, you’ll be rewarded with a higher amount of money. For 10,000 coins, you’re able to take a chance at acquiring a new character or item over at the Gacha. Although these are randomly given to you through a vending machine, don’t be surprised to get quite a few repeats. The ultimate goal is to collect as many characters as possible, providing you with better racers as well as completing dioramas.

By collecting the necessary characters and a piece of background for the diorama, you’ll earn a Diorama Point. This point is vital for improving the skills of a racer, allowing you to run faster and make more money beating opponents.

Flaws and Disappointments

Thumb.Run’s issues are fairly few and far between, but those that are present stand out as big problems.

The game’s biggest annoyance is its lack of courses – three levels, however fun and challenging, simply isn’t enough. While I’ve enjoyed attempting to whittle down my times and defeat the final enemies, the courses are monotonous and get old. Eventually, it becomes less about the novelty of a stage and more about grinding out the best time. The app says that more courses are coming soon, something that Thumb.Run definitely needs.

There’s also a lack of practice mode, which would be a welcome addition in future versions. Coupled with the inability to face weaker opponents for training purposes, Thumb.Run requires you to put your best performance forward constantly. If you’d like to practice on specific section of a course, you’d better hurry up – once your opponent finishes the race, you’ll have to restart again.

Lastly, there’s no syncing of times or characters, meaning that you’ll have to play through the game from the beginning on your other iOS devices.

Wrap-Up

Thumb.Run is a fast-paced, pick-up-and-play racer that may be a contender for your next bout of free time. Between enjoyable gameplay, a great soundtrack, and beautiful graphics, it’s a refreshing game that’s creative but familiar. If you’re looking for a game to cure a quick fix, I’d highly recommend checking this one out.

Thumb.Run can be purchased in the App Store for $0.99. It’s currently on a 66% off sale, so get it at its low price while you can.