Sprint Demo

Although it’s true that there are many old classics still relevant today, the video games market is evolving at a regular pace, and it will keep doing so in the future. We have current franchises that are bound to stand the test of time, and it’s only natural that more are going to be released every year. In the end, it all depends on whether you are willing to get with the times and enjoy the new stuff without jumping to comparisons from the first second of gameplay.

Sprint is an arcade runner that aims to help you remember the good old times of the 16-bit era, while featuring a plethora of elements inspired by famous classics. Mega Man and Pokemon are the two most dominant inspirations, however, and it is quite obvious right from the start. However, the game is very different in terms of gameplay, and it tries to integrate modern touchscreen mechanics.

The story is more of a placeholder and a thing that happens in the background while you’re not looking, because it doesn’t actually affect the gameplay very much. In short, the world is under threat from an evil man called Dr. Z, who intends to poach and enslave animals. The main character is the hero that tries to stop him, and he can rally the animals in his defense, sort of like in Pokemon.

As mentioned above, the game plays like an arcade runner, meaning that your character is constantly on the move and there’s no way to stop him. You also have to race against time, as well as avoid obstacles and defeat enemies by throwing your animal companions at them. Unfortunately, while this sounds mildly interesting on paper, the mechanics are not at all suited for PC, and it’s a frustrating experience from start to finish.

Everything is controlled using the mouse, which means that you have to drag-and-drop the main character in order to jump, and the animals in order to attack. When speed and quick reflexes are paramount, this type of control scheme just won’t do. It also takes a while for the input to register, which is yet another annoyance to stack on top of the others.

Although Sprint could find a small audience to support it, the game is just not cut for the PC market at the moment, not with the current set of gameplay mechanics. It’s quite clearly a product meant and designed for portable devices, unless of course a keyboard or a controller is added to the mix.

Note: You can support the developers of the game by participating in their Kickstarter campaign.