What do you get when you mix hyper troll dolls and less than impressive game design? Giana Sisters: Dream Runners.
With the help of good ol’ trusty Kickstarter, Black Forest Games was able to revamp a nearly forgotten franchise into modernity. Unfortunately for the dev and fans of the series, this reboot leaves a lot to be desired.
The object of the game is to race around a platformer setting, pushing others out of the screen as you move forward. Using mediocre abilities, you are able to scheme your way to the front, ultimately claiming yourself as the victor sister.
It is important to note that there are four different sisters, all of which resemble the classic 90s troll dolls. In case you have forgotten, they are the little munchkins with the bright neon hair that sticks straight up, and if you’re anything like me, they have scarred your memory forever.
Each of the four sisters may utilize special abilities as they scurry through the platforms. Unfortunately, these special moves are completely useless, considering the fast paced style of play and that the race track usually claims more victims than the abilities themselves.
Although a foot race game from the viewpoint of a standard platformer may sound like a good idea, it isn’t —at least, in the case of Giana Sisters: Dream Runners. Even when victory was in reach, it was highly probable that my character would get mashed against a wall at the last moment and pushed off the screen, due to the game’s poor level design.
Undoubtedly, the biggest issue with Giana Sisters: Dream Runners is the lack of any real single player mode, which could have served as away to expand the gameplay. Instead, the game only offers online multiplayer and — bad news bears — no one is ever online. I attempted to join a quick match multiple times, only to be forced to create my own match against CPUs.
Giana Sisters: Dream Runners was an undeniable attempt to revive and resurrect a cult classic into the modern era. Unfortunately, due to the small amount of players which render the forced multiplayer feature useless, along with the overall broken game design, this title is just another flop.
This review was based on a review copy of Giana Sisters: Dream Runners for the Xbox One provided by Black Forest Games.
