I’ve only come close to rage-quitting a game once, and I don’t plan on doing so anytime soon. ATOMIK: RunGunJumpGun brought me close to the edge, while also granting me countless opportunities to laugh at myself. The objective in this 8bit-inspired indie title is to reach the finish line of over 100 puzzles while collecting “atomiks,” swirling green collectibles dotting the landscape of beautiful retro-futuristic space hallways. Each level will challenge your courage, patience, and soul, knowing that just a nanosecond of extra button pressure would have let you thread the needle and make your way to safety. Running, rocketing, and gunning your way through spiked tunnels and countless rocket turrets covering your pathway with fiery death, ATOMIK: RunGunJumpGun is super addictive and just frustrating enough to have you saying, “Oh, just one more run then I’ll stop,” but you won’t.
You have two ways to move: run forward and fire your gun downwards to propel yourself into the air with the greatest of unease and clumsy timing. Thankfully, you have some starter levels to get your run-gunning legs under you and figure out the pacing. Your gun is not just a rocket pack, but can also shoot barriers and baddies that stand in your way. Stay ahead on the deadly side-scroll or you’ll be thrust back to the beginning of the challenge. While frustrating, the game is incredibly forgiving, which honestly saved me from throwing my Switch across the room when hitting my twelfth or thirteenth attempt at a level; taking a page from Super Mario Odyssey, you don’t have to worry about managing lives or continues. There’s no lull in the breakneck pace the game establishes. You never get enough of a breath to commit to quitting. Just before you can shut it down, you’re back at the start of the hallway, run gunning like a madman.
This is an incredibly fast-paced game, and if you have twitchy fingers like myself, they will not help you here. What might help you is a switch from the default L/R button setup to a more ergonomic ZL/ZR system. This will allow you to grip the Switch more comfortably when an errant fire blast incinerates you and you consider wrenching your console into oblivion. Fortunately, developer ThirtyThree Games allowed for this quick fix. Each level also has its own tricks to maneuver. I found myself mentally taking note of each spike and blade I came across to remember for the eventual re-do. Holding down the JumpGun button to fly across the room without hitting the deadly ceiling or crashing into the abyss below was a challenge that my twitchy fingers took time to accomplish. I’m not ashamed to say that I did not make it cleanly through a single level. I will not believe you if you claim any differently.
ATOMIK: RunGunJumpGun feels perfectly at home on a Nintendo console. Both functionally and aesthetically, it’s reminiscent of an old-school NES game. Originally released as a mobile title, it’s an excellent short-burst travel game, so it makes absolute sense on the Switch. I played it while at a hotel during a ski trip. It was just enough to get through some lulls in the weekend without having to worry about having enough time to make it to a save point. You can see the love and fun the three-person development team poured into the title.
Ultimately a single player game, ATOMIK: RunGunJumpGun is a great game to pass back and forth with a friend. Share that fun frustration (fun-stration?) with a loved one. Just don’t “backseat game” while your friend is in control. You won’t have that friend for much longer.
Find more information on Atomik: RunGunJumpGun on their official website.
