BIT.TRIP RERUNNER Review

The popular rhythm platformer, BIT.TRIP is back and looks and sounds better than ever. I had always intended on playing the original titles, but unfortunately, I never got around to it until now. This title is a remake or, rather, a makeover of the original BIT.TRIP RUNNER game, BIT.TRIP RERUNNER is developed by Choice Provisions, who have made a lot of changes and improvements to the original game but have still kept this as a 1:1 remake with extra bonuses included. 

As soon as you begin BIT.TRIP RERUNNER, the game suggests that when you are playing, use corded headphones as wireless ones could create lag that will mess up the timing of the audio. Most of the time, I just played with the sound on the Steam Deck turned up and never experienced any issues. There are three different obstacle selections to make that will determine how hard your run will be. It asks you if you have ever had the opportunity to play the BIT.TRIP RUNNER series before. If you are like me and have not played a game in this series before, they recommend selecting Obstacle Density Low I. If you have tried out the other games and want a bit more challenge, then try out the Medium II setting. For pros who have breezed through the other BIT.TRIP games, High III would be for you. If you find the game too hard or easy, you can change this setting at any point.  

There are three different zones that you will play through, then a collection of bonus levels. Each of the zones is made up of 11 different stages, ending in a boss fight. If you have ever played the original BIT.TRIP RERUNNER game, you will be very familiar with these bosses. They are still the same as the ones you know and love, but now they look better than ever! In each of the levels, you will forever be running forward, trying to grab the 32 piles of gold that are placed in front of you. Some of these are easy to acquire, while others are in more precarious positions that require you to have a fast reaction time. You do not need to grab all of them, as you have the option to retry, but if you want to earn keys and treasure chests to unlock more stuff like levels and music. Plus, the more you collect, the higher your score will be, which is always great for when you are competing against friends or other players online.

Most areas you run through will focus on one sort of move, sometimes you will have to jump, slide under an obstacle, kick an object in your way, or even dance. In the background, there will be signs saying “Press X to Kick!” so they make it obvious what you need to do to get through those obstacles. After learning a variety of moves, you will be challenged to combine everything that you have learned to get to the finish line successfully. If our main character, CommanderVideo, collides with an obstacle, you will go back to the last checkpoint that you have crossed. At first, it felt like they were spaced fairly close to each other, but as you progress, it gets a lot trickier to get to the next one without failing. I had to replay some areas multiple times until I gained the muscle memory that I needed to get to the next spawn point. 

If you need a break from the main game, there is a new mode that hasn’t appeared in a BIT.TRIP game before. It’s a level editor called RUNNER MAKER. Here, you can create your own stages and check out levels that other players have made in the community zone. When browsing through the levels to play, each shows how difficult it is, the length of the stage, how many people have liked it, and how many times it has been downloaded. So, if you are a creative type of person who wants to try their hand at bringing the levels that they dream of, this is an excellent option for you. You get to select the tiles that players run on, what collectables they can get, and what obstacles they will have to avoid. Once complete, you can post your creation for the community and your friends to check out and challenge.

As you challenge the stages in the Zone, you will unlock keys and boom boxes with the gold that you manage to collect. These items can be used to unlock special things like Letters to Players that go through the history of the games in the BIT.TRIP series and tell of the journey that CommanderVideo has gone through. Since I haven’t had a chance to check out the previous titles, I appreciated this because it got me up to speed on everything that I had missed in this franchise. 

Gone are the pixel art graphics. Mostly, some of the cinematics show a bit of straight-edge goodness; the visuals have now been reworked and are vibrant and with some of the background elements, like cranes or other machines, animated so they move. The crisp, clean lines fit in well with the angular, all-black CommanderVideo. If you are having issues with the game not running smoothly, check out the options menu, as you can adjust the resolution and FPS, which may help your issues. I was primarily playing on my Steam Deck and it ran with no issues at all. I love how a lot of different elements in the scenery, like wooden crates, had happy faces. Some of the stages featured dancing robots on the stage where you learn how to boogie.   

The music in BIT.TRIP RERUNNER is simply amazing; definitely worth wearing wired headphones or cranking up the speakers for! I love how your actions while you are playing add to the soundtrack of that level. If you haven’t heard the original soundtrack, the tracks from the original game are available to unlock. They are good, but I love the feel of the new and improved music. It managed to be upbeat yet relaxing at the same time, which sounds like it’s two contrasting things, but once you hear it for yourself, you will understand. I never get tired of hearing this music, and I would love to own it to hear it outside of the game; it’s that good!

I have had an incredible time with BIT.TRIP RERUNNER. There is so much replayability here with not only the range of difficulties available, but trying to have a perfect run by collecting everything in all of the stages was incredibly addictive. Plus, the addition of a stage creator to let you get creative and let your imagination run wild is great and also adds more content as you get to try out all the levels the members of the community have made. I’ve gotten a little frustrated and swore while playing this game, but in a good way, because I only had myself and my slow reflexes to blame for my failure. If you have ever played a BIT.TRIP game in the past or have been meaning to, the original game is available to unlock if you want to check it out. It was cool to see the differences in visual style between the two! BIT.TRIP RERUNNER is a perfect remake/remaster that is full of love and needs to be played.