Ultimate Runner reminds me of those infinite runner games you’d see on mobile platforms. Those free to play mobile games are still really popular time wasters for so many people. Even I’m guilty of playing games similar to Ultimate Runner. So how does a mobile genre hit translate when ported to Switch, let’s dive in!

Gameplay

This game reminds me a lot of the mobile game Subway Surfers. So much so in fact, it’s basically a reskin of that game. The concept of Ultimate Runner is rather simple, go left or right avoiding obstacles while collecting coins and not getting caught. There are carts that hold grass which you have to avoid, which look suspiciously like reskinned versions of the trains in Subway Surfers. The dodge barriers are pretty much exactly the same as Subway Surfers, even sound effects like collecting coins are very similar to the mobile hit.

There are also unlockable characters that you can purchase with coins found in games. While the character selection is small, it’s nice to have some variety in playable characters even if they don’t have added benefits.

Graphics

To put it simply, this game looks like it’s never rendered in. The graphics are really unappealing and downright ugly in my opinion. I only ever see something like this when I’m playing a relatively large game and chunks haven’t rendered in properly, making everything look so bad my eyes burn. While I was playing I thought that this was the case at first. After a few games, I realized that nope, this game really does just look like that.

Music

The music in this game is mixed. For example, when you’re about to get caught by the tribe members the music seems like you are in fact getting chased by those types of people. There are fast-paced drums and people yelling and this part was actually done well. On the other hand, when you’re further away from them, the music really doesn’t suit Ultimate Runner at all. In my opinion, the entire tone of the game changes. It goes from, “Oh geez people are chasing me I gotta run!” to, “Oh boy today sure is a nice day for a jog!” It really feels like they put no effort into the main theme. It doesn’t help that this song loops after about 25 seconds and gets really annoying after a few minutes.

Conclusion

Don’t bother with Ultimate Runner. The game so close to Subway Surfers you might as well go play that. It is a decent time killer. However, for $20 I would expect more out of it. It is unappealing to the eye, ear and I think at times even my taste buds were telling me to run away. The only running I ever wanted to do in Ultimate Runner was running away from the thing.

Enjoyed the review? Consider donating to our Patreon! Or for a smaller, one-time payment you can buy us coffee on Ko-fi! Also be sure to give Nindie Nexus and me a follow on Twitter! Also be sure to subscribe to us on YouTube! Want to talk to me and everyone else at Nindie Nexus? Then be sure to join our Discord server! One review I enjoyed was about the game Kingdom Two Crowns and I know you will too!